The American Pretears
by Akane Konae
Summary: Yep you guessed it! There’s not one, but TWO pretears! And they are American! And they are…ME AND E! Mwuahaha! With us as Pretears, will the world fall to the hands of the new Princess of Disaster? Probably… HayateOC GohOC SasameOC
1. Peculiar Feeling

Hey! Serena here with yet another fic! Yay! I am so proud of myself/hugs self/ Ok…moment gone. Anyway, this is my first Pretear fic, so be nice. I saw all the episodes of Pretear, and the ending is really sad, even though it is supposed to be a happy ending because everyone gets what they want (although Himeno doesn't know it ;) Anyways, hope you like this!

Disclaimer: Ok, so I don't own Pretear…although I wish I did…at least Hayate /giggles/.

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The American Pretears

Chapter 1

"Ah! The light!" Akane stepped off the bus, shielding her eyes from the blinding sun with her arm.

"Ah! It burns!" Sakana followed Akane off the bus. She, too, was shielding her eyes from the bright sun.

"Come on, let's get under the shade," Akane called to Sakana. Sakana was wearing a white polo shirt which had the school logo, a frog, patched onto the top left corner. Her dark, chocolate brown hair, as always, was held up by a ponytail in the back. Why she was wearing dark blue pants was still a mystery to Akane. They were living in _Florida_ for Pete's sake and it was August! Normally, August meant that the air would start to cool down, but nooo; Florida just has to be different and be scorching till November (This is true. The temperature in Florida will not go down to the low 80's and 70's until about November…/Sniff/) Akane wasn't too much smarter, though, but she was a bit better off; she wore khaki pants with a loose navy blue shirt that said "Frog Pond School Band" where the path should have been. As always she left her golden hair down cascading around her shoulders, only reaching just below her armpits.

The girls began walking aimlessly around the school. "Hey, what time is it, Akane?" Sakana asked. Akane checked her watch.

"Ugh, it's only 8:50. We still have 40 minutes to be bored out of our minds," Akane groaned.

"Why can't we be bored _in_ our minds?" Sakana asked and they laughed.

"I don't know. Can you go inside your mind and be bored?" Akane remarked and they laughed harder. Finally pushing their way through a crowd of kids who didn't know when to move, they came to their usual resting spot- a small brick enclosure. Plopping down their backpacks (which were incredibly heavy), they hopped onto the short brick wall. Sakana pulled out her CD player and started listening to Something Corporate.

"I love this song: Astronaut," she said and started singing the chorus. Akane laughed as she came to the part that said "I wanna be high…"

"That song is really weird," she commented, still giggling.

"Yeah, but it's still funny," Sakana agreed and continued singing. She stopped when Akane elbowed her. "Hey, what was that for?" she protested.

"Look," Akane pointed to the clear, blue sky. Comet-like tails of colored sparks flew across the sky. Many kids around them stopped to watch the fireworks.

"Hey, look at those fireworks!" one girl squealed to her friend. Akane and Sakana looked on at the scene, dumbfounded.

"Who would be setting off fireworks?" Sakana asked. "It's the middle of August."

"I don't know, but I don't think those were fireworks. They didn't go up in the air and explode…they just kept going and going and going-"

"Like the Energizer Bunny!" Sakana joked.

"Yeah…but still. What in the world was that, do you think?" Akane wondered.

"How would I know?" Sakana answered. Akane shrugged.

"Attention teachers and students," the overcome blared with feedback, causing everyone to cover their ears. "Please don't forget that today there is benchmark testing, so students, you are to report to your testing center room. Teachers, if you are in the portables, please report to your designated rooms for testing." Everyone groaned.

"Oh, yeah. I forgot we had benchmark testing today. Hehehe," Sakana rubbed her head and smiled sheepishly.

"Which room are you in?" Akane asked.

"Uh, I am in Mr. Whithrock's room," she replied. "Who do you have?"

"I think I have Mrs. Johnson. At least that's what it said on the little slip of paper we got," Akane guessed.

_RRRIIIIIIINNNNGGGGGG!_

The bell rang, signaling for classes to start.

"See ya later," the two girls called out to each other at the same time and walked in opposite directions to their testing centers.

The bright halls were crowded with students trying to get to their assigned rooms. Some were going about frantically trying to find their way around the maze of hallways. Akane looked on as she easily made her way up the stairs and through the halls towards her testing center.

"235…237…239. Here it is. 241," finally coming across the right room, she walked through the door. It was very similar to her science classroom, with wooden, black-topped lab tables; the walls were covered with posters of past projects and the periodic table. In the front of the room was a long wooden desk similar to the lab tables that held all of the teacher's belongings and student papers.

"Please come in and take a seat," a voice said behind Akane making her jump five feet in the air. The teacher said hello and walked pass. She stared at her for a few seconds before taking a seat in the front. For some reason she liked to sit in the front…maybe because she had poor eyesight.

When everyone had entered the room, the teacher stood in the front and quieted everyone down. "Good morning. My name is Dr. Johnson. Is everyone sure they are in the correct room?" she asked the class and everyone shook their heads. "Good. Now when I pass out your test books and scantron sheets, you may begin and don't forget to fill in the rectangle at the bottom of the scantron sheet with the correct information." She walked by, giving everyone a test book and an answer sheet with 100 multiple choice answer bubbles.

"Akane opened her book and began to read the first problem. _What is the first step to solving this equation: 5+24X3-8? _"That's easy," Akane muttered and bubbled in answer A on her scantron sheet.

An hour later, Akane was bored out of her mind, having finished the test 40 minutes before time was called.

"Finally," she moaned once the tests were collected and the intercom boomed overhead.

"Attention teachers and students," the 8th grade administrator began, "When the bell rings, students will report to their period two classrooms. I repeat, student will report to their period two classrooms." He finished and the bell rang. Kids rushed out of the classroom, Akane in the midst of it all. Finally getting through the traffic jam in the hallway, she hurried to her period two class.

"Oh joy, science. At least it's only for 30 minutes," she whined and entered through the door just as the bell rang. Quickly sitting down, the teacher began by quieting the class.

"Now that everyone is quiet," Mr. Whithrock began, eyeing the couple of boys in the back, "Take out your notebooks. We are going to be talking about the periodic table…" his voice was muffled as students searched their book bags for their notebooks. For the remainder of the period, Akane took notes on alkali metals, alkaline metals, rare earth metals, transition metals, and other metals that she couldn't remember. To her hand's relief, the bell finally rang, signaling for the students to go to their 3rd period classes.

"Oh joy. Now I have math next," Akane whined. All she wanted to do was to go home and talk with her friends online, maybe even work on some of her stories. At least so far none of her teachers were giving any homework, judging by what other kids were saying. She was thankful for that, because this was probably going to be the only time that she would have no homework, and her teachers were probably going to pile on a bunch of the evil stuff as catch up for the days they were missing.

In geometry, the students worked on their Lunar Colony project, which was a pain.

"No, if we had any more stuff, we will be over budget!" Akane told her partners, Sakana and Kenichi.

"But look at it!" Sakana pointed to their plan of the lunar colony. "It's so bare and empty on this side!"

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Kenichi called out suddenly. "Why don't we use a snow machine to cover the ground? It would be a lot cheaper than buying the grass," he stated simply. Akane and Sakana checked the price list of items.

"Hey, you're right!" they jeered together. "Kenichi, you're a genius!" Akane cheered.

"No, I'm not a genius. I'm just cheap," he joked and they laughed.

3rd period ended and finally came fourth period. It was one of Akane's favorite classes because she had lunch during that class, and that was the only time she got to see her friends (besides before school). What was even better was that Sakana had told her that they were able to play games and do whatever in English class!

Akane walked into the classroom and sat down in her seat on the far side of the room as everyone else filed in. When the bell rang, the teacher stood up front.

"Ok, since we have benchmark testing this week, your choices of things to do are to either read a book, play one of the games I have in my closet, or to work on your essays," she said boredly, although the rest of the class cheered and immediately rushed to the closet. Several people crowded around the Scrabble boards or even played cards. Akane, however, took out her USB key and went straight for the computers.

"Maybe I can actually work on my stories," she said and plugged the USB key in. Opening the file with her stories in it, she began to type.

Someone entered the room, but Akane didn't bother to look back to see who it was as she usually did; she was too engrossed in her story, and if she looked back, she would've lost the brilliant ideas that were forming in her head.

"Um, excuse me, is Akane here? I'm here to pick her up for dismissal," a familiar voice asked. Akane's eyes widened as she recognized the voice. Slowly, she turned to see a boy with spiky, icy blue hair standing at the front of the teacher's desk.

_"No,"_ she thought. _"That can't be…can it?"_ she thought anxiously.

"Yes, but I'm sorry. There can be no early dismissals until after testing is over," the teacher said. The boy's face dropped.

"But this is really important!" he argued.

"I'm sorry, but testing is more important right now," she stated finally. Realizing defeat, the boy hung his head and dragged himself out the door, but not before casting one last icy blue gaze towards Akane. Akane's breath caught and she snapped her head back to the computer screen.

_"Was that really…him?"_ she asked herself. _"No, that couldn't be him. He's supposed to be legend and myth, along with the other ones like him."_

"Attention all teachers and students," the 8th grade administrator's voice boomed over the intercom, interrupting Akane's train of thought. "When the bell rings, students and teachers are to report directly to their testing centers. I repeat, report directly to your testing centers when the bell rings." Seconds after that announcement, the bell rang. Akane quickly saved her story and packed her things before rushing out the door to her testing center for another long, boring hour. As she walked down the crowded hallways, the spiky-haired boy never left her mind.

"How could that be him?" she muttered to herself. "I have to tell Sakana about this. Maybe she might know something, although I highly doubt it." Even as she walked down the halls, she had the unusual feeling of being watched. She stopped and looked around, but when she saw no one out of place, she continued walking.

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A/N: Yay! Done with the first chapter! And I already know what to do with the second one…I just wanted to split the two up. So, if you review, then I will finish the second one sooner and post it sooner! Anyone who can figure out who that little boy was...I'll give you a cookie! (Ok, maybe not, but i will dedicate the next chapter to you or something...I'll think of something or you can tell me in a review...)

BTW...again...almost everything that happaened in this chapter is true...except for the fireworks in the sky and the little boy(duh!). The benchmark testing...whihch is very evil...is a practice foe the FCAT...which is the statewide test for Florida...basically Florida's version of the IOWA's. We always have to be different, like starting school BEFORE Labor Day and stuff...it gets really annoying.


	2. The Leafe Knights Appear

Hey guys! Serena here. I got my first flame ever. And personally, I think it is dumb (no offense to said person), although it did make me think this story over a bit. But hey, what do you think fanfiction is? If you are still not sure, then look at the logo and motto that is at the top of EVERY SINGLE page on this site. Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter because instead of updating my other one I am doing this one.

Thank you everyone who reviewed! You guys make me soooo happy! (Even my flamer)

Kristin398: Lol, yeah. Me and my friends are like that too, but usually only at lunch. In the mornings we are so tired, and we don't see each other much during school, so lunch is the only time. Thanks for reviewing!

E: Hi e! Thanks for reviewing my stories.

LadyMoon and E: Yes you guys got it right! The boy was Mannen! Sorry I didn't email you and tell you, but I am just a little over-cautious sometimes.

Disclaimer/growls/ I really wish that I did own this…at least Hayate. But sadly, I don't, so leave me alone already.

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Chapter 2

Akane was literally almost bored to tears by the time the bell rang for 6th period. She was anxious to meet that "mystery boy". Panting, she sat down in her seat just before the bell rang.

"Ok, guys," Mr. Takashi said as he closed the door. "Take out your planners and write down what is on the board." He walked over to his desk and waited for the students to finish. Once he saw that everyone was done, he spoke up again. "Ok, since today was a testing day, you can play some of the games I have in the closet, or work on your essays."

"How in the world does everyone know about that stupid science essay that we have!" one boy called out.

"Because all the gifted teachers are working together, duh!" a girl stated simply and everyone laughed.

"Ok, ok, everyone quiet down," the teacher said. "Quietly and without pushing, you may go and get some games or talk with each other, but _quietly,_" he emphasized. Everyone scurried to the closet and grabbed any game they could reach, such as Scrabble, Geoquest, a deck of cards, etc.

Akane, instead of going to play games, went to talk with her friend Sakura.

"Are you that bored?" Akane joked. Sakura was playing with her pencil and staring at it as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"Yep," Sakura laughed along with Akane. She looked up at the clock and groaned. "We still have 45 minutes of boredom left."

"Yeah, but we never get a chance to do nothing like this," Akane reasoned, trying to cheer her friend up. "Come on. Go do something. Your pencil can't be _that_ interesting." Sakura laughed. Someone entered the room and the two girls turned to see who it was.

"Hey, who is that?" Sakura asked. "I've never seen him before…" Akane, however, knew all too well who that was. He was tall, with thin silver hair. He looked to be no older than 25 years old.

"Excuse me," he asked in a smooth, calming voice. "Is there a Miss Akane here? I have a note from her parents," he held up a yellow piece of paper, "to pick her up early for dismissal. I am her uncle." Most of the girls in the class were ogling at the mystery man, although some for different reasons. The rest were giving her death glares.

"Hey, Akane? Do you know who that is?" Sakura whispered. Akane gulped.

"Well…sort of," she said uncertainly and the man glanced over at her. She gasped. If the man was really who she thought it was, then he just heard their whole conversation!

"Akane, I guess you are going home early," the teacher said. "Pack your things. I'll see you tomorrow." Akane tried desperately to smile, but failed as a lump rose in her throat.

"_Great, first Mannen, and now Sasame? What the heck is going on here!" _she tried to find a reason to their appearance, but could think of nothing. Lifting her backpack onto her back, she tossed a smile over in Sasame's direction, and he smiled back.

"Hello, Akane. Nice to see you," he greeted and led her out the door. As soon as Akane felt they were a safe distance from the classroom, she let it all out.

"Ok, what the hell is going on here! First Mannen comes, and now you?"

"So you know who we are?" he asked calmly.

"Duh, I know who you are, Sasame!" she yelled, although careful not to be too loud. Sasame smiled when she knew his name. "Why in the world are you guys here…and why did you tell my teacher that you were my uncle?"

"I had to get you out of class somehow, didn't I?" Akane laughed. "And we need your help to defeat the new Princess of Disaster," he said simply. Akane staggered backwards.

"What? What do you mean you need my help?" she asked skeptically.

"If you do know who we are, then you should know why we have come for you," he said, but to Akane it was all riddles.

"I have no clue why the Leafe knights are here, or why you came searching for me," she said, trying to calm herself down. "But anyway, how in the world can I possibly help you?" They walked out the school doors and proceeded down the sidewalk.

"Here, let me show you," she stopped and turned to Akane, holding out his hand. Akane just stared at his hand, wondering why he was offering it to her, when realization it her. Wide-eyed she gazed up at Sasame, who was smiling. "You are the Pretear." Akane just continued staring, moving her gaze from Sasame to his hand. Satisfied, Sasame drew back his hand and continued walking down the sidewalk.

"Why are we going to the other building?" Akane asked as they turned the corner to the second school building.

"Unusually enough, there is a second Pretear," he said, amazed himself. Akane knitted her eyebrows. A second Pretear? That was strange, since in legend there was only one Pretear. A thought crossed her mind

"Wait, how did you know that I was a Pretear?" she asked suddenly.

"Well, we have been searching for you for a while. Over the years, the Leafe knights have been able to sense the Leafe in different objects and creatures. When we came across you, we noticed you had a higher Leafe level than the other students," we stopped in front of the gym. "Wait here," he put a hand in front of Akane and walked inside. He came out five minutes later with a confused Sakana.

"Wait, you mean she's the other Pretear?" Akane asked, astounded and ecstatic.

"Wait, what do you mean 'Pretear?'" Sakana asked, obviously having no clue what was going on.

"Sakana, who do you think this is?" Akane pointed to Sasame. Sakana stared at Sasame for a long while before she finally answered.

"Oh! I know who you are now!" she exclaimed, slow as ever. "You're…but how?" But her question was left unanswered.

"Hey, I'll explain everything when we get out of here, ok?" Akane whispered, although she didn't even know why she had bothered to since Sasame, being the legendary Knight of Sound, could hear everything.

They had finally gotten out of the school grounds and were walking towards the bunches of trees that lined the road.

"Hey, Sasame," Sakana asked, "Where are we going?"

"We are going to meet the others," he stated calmly, but the two girls were simply ecstatic.

"Yay! We get to meet Goh, Shin, and Kei!" Sakana exclaimed.

"And Mannen, Hajime and Hayate!" Akane added. (Hey, that rhymed!)

"How do you girls know all of our names?" Sasame asked, amazed at the girls knowledge of them.

"Well, you see," Sakana began.

"We actually took a mythology course together, and they talked about the Leafe Knights, and how, along with the Pretear, Himeno, defeated the Princess of Disaster," Akane added.

"We were the only ones interested in the legend, so we actually paid attention for once."

"And we did some extra research on you guys and found out your names and each of your powers," Akane finished.

"I think we were the only ones to actually pass the course. Everyone else failed, I think," Sakana remembered.

"Actually, I would've been the only one to pass the course because Sakana fell asleep in class most of the time," Akane corrected.

"Hey, Sasame!" a voice called out from the trees. Heads turned in the said direction only to see a boy with red-orange hair bounding up towards them.

"Hello, Hajime," Sasame greeted. "Where are the others?"

"We're right here!" A boy shouted and two boys came jumping out of the shadows of the trees. The boy who shouted was none other than Mannen, the one who had tried to get Akane out of class first, but had failed. The other boy was much shorter. He had blonde hair and big, green eyes and wore an amber amulet around his neck.

"Hey! Aren't you two…Mannen and Shin?" Sakana asked, pointing at the boys.

"The Knights of Water and Plants!" Akane added.

"Yep, that's us!" Mannen said proudly, putting his hands on his hips. Shin nodded shyly.

"Aw, you're so cute!" Sakana squealed and ruffled Shin's hair, audible laughs emitting from the others. Shin blushed but stayed, enjoying the attention. Suddenly, Sasame perked up and turned his head towards some trees hidden in shadow.

"Hello, Hayate," he said simply. As a sound elemental, that was one of his powers-enhanced and controlled hearing. The girls jumped at his sudden greeting and followed his gaze. A man with long navy blue hair stepped out, his face showing little signs of emotion. He glanced at the girls for a moment before returning his gaze towards the Knight of Wind.

"So, you found them?" he asked, his voice cold.

"Of course, although we had to wait until they were out of school," Sasame returned calmly. The bell from the school rang loudly, causing everyone to jump, save for Hayate and Sasame.

"Actually, _now_ we are out of school," Akane corrected as they watched the entire school population pour out of the buildings and load onto the buses.

"Yay, no more stupid benchmark testing!" Sakana and Akane cheered simultaneously, hugging each other. The Knights sweat-dropped.

"Well, you would be cheering if you knew how boring and stupid those tests are," Akane explained.

"Well, were they easy?" Sasame asked, sounding so much like someone's father.

"Yeah, but they were still boring. I finished with like 30 minutes left. When all you can do is sit and stare at your pencil for 30 minutes, you would go crazy too," Sakana added.

"I tried to go to sleep, but those chairs are _so_ uncomfortable and the desks are so cold!" Akane complained. The yellow busses began filing out of the school, going their own separate ways as they headed for their destinations. Many kids waved at them, while just as many girls shot the girls death glares.

"What's their problem? Sakana asked. Akane shrugged as they continued to watch the busses go buy...One bus, two bus, three bus…

"Let's go," Hayate interrupted suddenly. "The others are waiting for us." Hayate began walking down the slightly crowded sidewalk with four Knights and two pouting but relieved girls trailing behind. A thought suddenly crossed Akane's mind as they passed by several houses.

"Hey, do you know where we live?" she asked. The others stopped as well and stared at Hayate.

"This is going to take too long if we walk," he said. "We will fly you two over to your house." He turned to Hajime and Shin. "You two go ahead of us. If anything goes wrong one of you come back." The two boys nodded and flew off in a blinding flash of blue and green light, leaving a trail of sparks behind them.

"So it was you guys we saw this morning!" Akane realized.

"Wait…what?" Sakana looked confused, as always. Akane sighed and pointed to the retreating forms of Hajime and Shin.

"Look. Does that look familiar to you?" Sakana stared at the fireworks.

"Who in the world would set off fireworks in August…hey, wait a minute!" the light bulb finally went on. "We saw fireworks this morning! Where's Hajime and Shin? Did they…wait a minute…oh!" Everyone sweat-dropped.

"Finally you have come back down to earth," Akane sighed and turned to the remaining Leafe Knights. "So how in the world are we going to fly to our house?"

"_You_ are not flying, _we_ are," Hayate corrected.

"Whatever, but still. How are we going to get to our house?" Akane asked again. By now all of the students and teachers had disappeared and all that was left around them were the occasional cars passing by.

"Hayate, why don't we prêt with them?" Sasame interrupted. "Give them a chance to get used to our powers?" Hayate glared at Sasame, but nodded. "Ok, so who would you girls like to prêt with?"

"Hmm…hey, Sasame?" Sakana asked. "Could I prêt with you?" Sasame smiled and nodded, extending his hand. Sakana reluctantly took it and a blinding flash of silver light enveloped them. The light dissipated, an amazed Sakana standing there, now clothed in a lavender and white ballerina's outfit.

"Wow," she tried to whistle. "Even with Sasame's power I still can't whistle!"

"I think if you did you would destroy everything in your path," Akane joked. Everyone stared at her. "What are you all staring at me for?" she shifted uncomfortably.

"You have to choose who to prêt with now," Sakana pointed out the obvious. Akane hung her head.

"The person I would like to prêt with would probably hate me for picking him," she explained. Sakana's eyes glazed over for a moment before returning back to normal.

"Sasame said that he wouldn't mind," she looked confused. "Who wouldn't mind?" Akane ignored her and looked towards Hayate. He stared at her for a few seconds before sighing.

"Fine," he extended his hand just has Sasame had done. Akane gulped and placed her hand in his, taking a deep breath. Immediately a flash of bluish-silver light surrounded them. For a moment all Akane could see was Hayate in front of her before he, too, disappeared in a bluish light. Instinctively, she closed her eyes as she felt something enter her body. A sudden gust whipped around her, throwing her blonde locks about. The light and wind disappeared as fast as they came, and Akane could once again see Mannen and Sakana in front of her, smiling.

"Wow," Sakana let out a dry whistle and cursed. "Whatever. I like your outfit a lot better than mine. At least you got you favorite color. I got pink…hehehe, sorry, Sasame." She said sheepishly. It was true. When Akane looked down, she was dressed in a white and blue ballerina's outfit, although it was much airier than Sakana's. On her hands were thin, white gloves and on her feet were matching heels. What she liked about it most, however, were the two blue ribbons attached below her shoulders that seemed to flow in the air by themselves. Akane looked up, grinning.

"So what? Yours is more purple than pink, anyway," she said.

"But it's still pink!" Sakana whined.

"If you keep whining then Sasame will leave," Akane taunted and Sakana shut up. "Ok, Hayate. How do we fly?" She asked to the air, hoping that Hayate could hear her. Akane could hear a low growl in the back of her mind; she returned the growl. "If you don't tell us how to do anything we won't get anywhere."

"_Relax your body and mind,"_ Hayate's voice rang inside her head and Akane jumped.

"Ok, Sakana. You have to-"she stopped mid-sentence when she saw the sight in front of her. Sakana was glowing in a rainbow of colors and was already starting to levitate off the ground. Akane growled, closing her eyes, and concentrated on relaxing her muscles and clearing her mind.

"Ok. Now what, Hayate?" she asked.

"_Sense the great Wind Leafe that resides in the Pretear and envision yourself flying." _Akane concentrated more, immediately feeling the elemental power of the wind.

"Come on, Akane! Hurry up!" She heard Sakana's voice coming from far ahead of her and opened her eyes. She gasped as she gazed above the trees and saw Sakana floating in the air 50 feet ahead of her.

"Wow," she let out a low whistle. "Hey, wait up!" she yelled and sped off after Sakana.

"This is so much fun, huh?" Akane asked when she had finally caught up with Sakana. They were flying above the clouds so people wouldn't think they were aliens and call the police.

"Yeah, but my face already stings from the air," she said. Akane's face felt the same way; her face stung from the cold air and she was longing to land.

"So what's it like being with Sasame?" she asked.

"It's really cool. I can hear everything!" she cheered and laughed. "Mom's cursing at her boss. What's it like being with Hayate?"

"I feel as light as a feather," Akane giggled. After going a few more feet, the girls stopped suddenly, clutching their stomachs.

"What the hell?" Sakana's eyes widened.

"What is this feeling?" Akane was starting to shiver.

"_Demon larva," _Hayate seemed surprised the girls had sensed to so soon; Akane didn't miss the hint of fear in his voice.

"Sakana…go get the others," Akane ordered, fearing for her sister's safety.

"What? Why can't you go get them? I wanna fight too!" she argued. Akane shot her a look, causing Sakana to gulp and she sped off to their house.

"_You idiot, why did you send her off?" _Hayate scolded.

"Because we might need more help. We are just starting with these new powers, so we won't be of much help," Akane defended. A shiver crept up her spine and she sped off towards the direction she sensed the demon larva.

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A/N: O.O Wow…this was my longest chapter yet! 8 pages! (Although I know other people have written over 10) I am probably gonna get chewed out by a couple of people for updating this story instead of my Inuyasha one, but I am sorta stuck with that so…yeah. (I guess it's because of the version of Microsoft Word I have, but it puts the little arrow thingy above the "e" in the word "prêt" automatically.) Please review! 


	3. Face Off

Hi everybody! (Audience: Hi, Dr. Nick!...lol…Just couldn't resist) Ok, I have decided to update this story and my Inuyasha one at the same time, but the updates on this story will be slower, mainly cause I am a little stuck on what should happen next after this. Anyways…um….ok I have run out of things to say. On with the story!

Disclaimer: Aww, you know how much I hate saying this. Ok, Ok. I don't own Pretear. There, happy/pouts/.

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Chapter 3

The sun was setting, coloring the sky with brilliant purples, reds, and oranges. Akane would've stopped to admire the sunset if it weren't for the fact that she had some exterminating to do. Since when did she become the world's personal exterminator? Shaking the thought from her head, Akane landed in a deserted alleyway. Behind the rusted trashcans she could sense an evil power rising. A jelly-like monster shot from its hiding place and began to solidify into a demon worm.

"Is that the demon larva?" Akane asked.

"_Yes, and unfortunately it has taken root. We have to wait for Shin to put up the barrier so we can take care of it without damaging the city,"_ Hayate explained.

"Wow, for once you are being nice and giving advice. We should write that down in history books," Akane teased, earning a glare from Hayate. "Relax, it was just a joke," the demon larva shot a tentacle towards Akane. She held her ground, prepared to attack and defend herself.

"_Dummy, get out of the way!" _Hayate yelled. Akane ignored him and held her hands in front of her in a defensive stance. Akane heard Hayate yelp in pain and jumped.

"What? What's wrong? Why didn't the demon larva attack?" Akane asked, worried.

"_Pay attention to the demon larva!"_ he commanded and groaned in pain. Akane worried what happened to him, but took his advice anyway.

"How do I defeat him?" Akane asked.

"_Relax you mind and sense the Wind Leafe that resides in the Pretear!"_ Hayate scolded as if that were something that everybody knew. Akane made a mental note to finish their little fight later and did as she was told. Immediately she began to feel a soft breeze caress her body. When she opened her eyes, she was holding a magnificent blue sword with visible gusts blowing around it.

"Wow," Akane let out a dry whistle.

"_Look out, it's attacking again!"_ Hayate warned, bringing Akane out of her daze. The demon larva began collecting energy into its mouth, filling it with a bright light.

"_Hurry and attack its core,"_ Hayate urged.

"Where's its core?" Akane panicked, looking around frantically.

"_As the Pretear you should be able to sense it,"_ Hayate said. Akane looked around the monster's body for something that looked like its core. Around the center of its body, she felt that its energy revolved around that spot and moved in. The demon larva aimed at Akane and shot its attack, causing her to divert from her path. The energy blast collided with a building wall, sending hunks of concrete falling to the ground with a huge crash.

"Sakana better get here quickly with Shin. I don't know how much longer I can hold him off," Akane said. As if on cue, Sakana came flying over the rooftops with the other Leafe knights.

"Akane!" Sakana called out. Akane turned and immediate relief flooded through her.

"What took you so long?" Akane asked as they landed next to her. Sakana was still in her Pretear of Sound outfit.

"I had a little trouble finding you guys," Sakana confessed sheepishly. Akane sweat dropped.

"_There's no time for gabbing! Hurry and get the barrier up,"_ Hayate interrupted. Akane growled and turned to Shin.

"Shin, we need the barrier, or whatever that is!" Akane said. The little blonde boy nodded and cupped his hands around is amber pendant.

"Beiandios (sp?)!" he shouted. Vines began spreading out from the pendant like snakes, forming a barrier around the Pretears and the Knights and the demon larva. The knights transformed into their fighting outfits, the colors matching their powers, and flew off to attack the demon larva.

"Akane, how are we supposed to defeat it?" Sakana asked as she dodged a blast of energy.

"We have to find its core and destroy it," Akane explained.

"How are we supposed to know where the core is?" Sakana asked again.

"Hayate said we should be able to sense it. I already found it, so I'll go after it. Cover me, ok?" Akane said and sped off, not bothering to wait for an answer. Sakana grunted, but covered her sister.

Akane quickly found the core again and held her sword in her hands. Dodging a jelly green tentacle, she charged forward. Holding her sword up, she thrust it into the monster's body and felt it hit the core. It cracked and shattered, and the demon larva melted into nothing.

"Yes!" Akane and Sakana cheered, and the battlefield disappeared in a blinding white light. They reemerged in the same spot, in their normal clothes.

"You guys did it!" Mannen and Hajime cheered and hugged the girls, who hugged back even tighter.

"Yes, job well done," Sasame agreed.

"Yeah, you guys were great for your first time," Goh added. Akane and Sakana grinned at their accomplishment. Hayate stood away from the group, his hand in his pocket. Akane's grin immediately faded, the only one to notice him.

"Hayate, are you ok?" she asked, Droplets of blood fell from his hand, staining the grass, "Hayate, you're hurt!" Akane gasped. The others turned towards him and their grins faded as well. Akane stood up and walked over to him.

"It's nothing," he said and turned away.

"What do you mean "It's nothing", of course it's something!" Akane was frantic now and turned towards the other Knights. "How come he's hurt and I'm not?" she asked. The Knights looked at each other and shifted uncomfortably.

"Well, you see, when a Leafe knight prêts with a Pretear," Goh began.

"Their Leafe becomes one, so they share the same body," Sasame added.

"In battle, the Leafe Knight either acts as a sword or a shield that the Pretear uses," Kei said.

"In other words, we get hurt instead of you," Goh said. Akane turned her head back towards Hayate, who was still looking away. Her eyes glazed over with tears and she looked down.

"I'm sorry, Hayate. I should have listened to you when you said to move. It's my fault you got hurt," Akane apologized.

"Don't give me your sympathetic excuses," he spat.

"Hayate!" Sasame scolded. "They did very well for their first try, and especially Akane. She held off the demon larva for us until we got there!"

"Yeah, so give her some slack!" Goh defended. Hayate still faced away from Akane, only making Akane struggle more with holding back her tears.

"No, it's ok. I know I suck at fighting," Akane said, defeated. The others gave her sympathetic looks, Sakana putting her arm around her friend's shoulders. She glared at Hayate, which didn't faze him the slightest bit.

"You say you've accepted this fate? You should think about it more before you agree to anything," Hayate said and walked off. Akane watched him leave. Once he was out of sight, she withdrew herself from her friend's embrace.

"I'd better go. See you guys later," she said and started home.

"Akane!" Sakana called out. She sighed and turned towards the remaining Knights. "I'm gonna go make sure she's alright. See you guys tomorrow," she said and ran after her sister.

"Akane, are you ok? Can I come in?" Akane heard Sakana ask through her door. In truth, Akane just wanted to be alone to think, or rather, she wanted to get her mind off what Hayate had said. She had everything she had ever wanted: a loving family, great friends a computer, and plenty of toys she liked, but she still felt bored and restless. Akane sighed.

"Yeah, you can come in," she said. Sakana opened the wooden door and walked over to her sister, closing the door behind her. Sitting on her bed, she began to consol her.

"Akane, forget what Hayate said. He's just one of those guys who don't like to admit to things when something happens to him," Sakana said.

"I know, but maybe I'm not cut out to be Pretear. I mean," she started. "Hayate got hurt because of something I should've been able to do. I mean, Sasame didn't get hurt with you," Akane trailed off.

"He didn't get hurt because I didn't do much of anything. The other Leafe Knights did most of it. But you were there trying to stop the demon larva until we got there. You didn't have much time to learn anything," Sakana reasoned. Akane smiled, but only half-heartedly.

"Thanks, Sakana. That really helped," she hugged her sister tightly.

"No problem. It's just strange to see the hyper Akane all depressed," Sakana smiled at accomplishing her task and walked out of the room. Akane sighed and fell backwards into her fluffy, blue pillows, staring at her sky blue ceiling. Her whole room was decorated in different shades of blue, while her sister's room was decorated in reds and blacks. She loved the feeling that she got every time she looked at her ceiling because it made her feel like she was flying into the sky. Hayate had finally left her mind and Akane fell into a soundless sleep.

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A/N: I am sooo sorry that this chapter is so short, but I tried to make it as long as I could. I sort of based this chapter on the first episode, as you can see. Anyways, I promise the next chapters will be longer. Please review! And if anyone knows how to spell that little saying that Shin says to put up that barrier thingy to fight the demon larva, please tell me, cause I know I spelled it wrong. 

A big thank you to Sakaki's Girl and LadyMoon for reviewing! You guys make me sooo happy!


	4. Training Camp

Hiya everybody! Serena's back in action! I got this chapter in as fast as I could. Anyways…OMG I got some reviews! O.O Yay! I'm happy! .

Review Responses:

Inuyumi: Thanks for reading my story. Don't worry, I'll try and add you to the story…but you still haven't answered my questions that I sent you!

LadyMoon: Omg, thank you soooo much! Gives hug wipes fake tear You are soo good to me! Thanks so much. I just can't say that enough. .

Disclaimer: …you guys have heard this a million times…

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Chapter 4

"Akane! Wake up!" Sakana poked her sister. Akane groaned and rolled over.

"Go away, Sakana. Just five more minutes," she mumbled and tried to go back to sleep. She heard Sakana sigh and exit through the door. She smiled, and, expecting not to be bothered again, tried to fall back asleep. She didn't hear the stealthy footfalls that had reentered the room and began sneaking up on her. Just as she was about to enter dreamland, a tidal wave of freezing water poured over her.

"AHHH! SAKANA, I'M GONNA GET YOU FOR THAT!" Akane screamed. Sakana grinned and screamed playfully down the stairs with Akane not too far behind. Just as Sakana was about to exit the house, Akane grabbed her shirt and pulled her back.

"What the hell did you pour freezing cold water on me for?" Akane yelled. She grinned inwardly when she saw Sakana shift uncomfortably. That would teach her not to pour water on her.

"Well, uh, you see, Mannen came over and said that we would be training today, and I, uh, thought you would want to, too, so I woke you up. You probably would've yelled at me more if I hadn't," she smiled, and Akane let her drop to the ground with an ungraceful _thump_.

"Well, you could've woken me up without pour water all over me," Akane pouted, then relaxed. "What time is it anyways?"

"It's 11:00," Sakana answered. Akane's eyes widened.

"WHAT? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" Akane rushed back upstairs. She rummaged through her dresser and pulled out a Happy Bunny shirt that said "Cute but Psycho" with Happy bunny in a straight jacket. From her closet she pulled out a pair of blue jeans and got dressed. She rushed into her bathroom and quickly brushed her blonde hair before rushing back downstairs, panting.

"Wow, five minutes. That's a record, even for you, since you usually take like 20 minutes to get ready," Sakana joked.

"Yeah well, you didn't exactly give me any time," Akane's breathing slowed as she willed her heart to find its natural rhythm again.

They walked outside into the blinding light of the almost-afternoon sun. Shielding their eyes with their arms, they walked down the sidewalk next to their two story house towards the park.

"So, how do you think they are gonna train us?" Akane asked. Sakana shrugged and Akane sighed. "I just hope Hayate isn't mad at me anymore."

"Why would he be mad at you?" Sakana asked and Akane glared at her. "What…oh. I remember now," She said. "Don't worry; he won't be mad at you. I mean, it was your first time. I would've done worse." Sakana joked and Akane laughed.

"Yeah, you're right," Akane agreed, feeling more comfortable now. "Doesn't today feel like Friday?"

"Yeah. I still don't know why they made us go to school yesterday. I mean, those stupid benchmark tests are so easy," Sakana agreed.

"Yeah, and they just had to have them right before fall break. Really stupid," Akane added. They reached the park gates and entered. The park, just like they expected, was deserted. The swings and playground in the sand were void of the usual little annoying kids who always pestered you to play with them and help them make a sand castle. After ten minutes of your sleeve getting tugged it got really annoying.

"Aw, the wall isn't here. I guess it got tired and took a vacation," Sakana said, making Akane laugh.

Akane and Sakana sat on the swings and waited for the Leafe Knights to come. They waited…and waited…and waited…and waited…

"This is the song that never ends," Sakana began.

"Yes it goes on and on my friends," Akane and Sakana began to sing. "Some people started singing it, not knowing what it was, and then they started singing it forever just because it is the song that never ends. Yes it goes on and on my-AHHHHHH!" Akane and Sakana yelped and fell off the swings.

"God, don't scare us like that!" Sakana scolded as she stood up, rubbing her head.

"Yeah, really, what was that for?" Akane asked.

"Well, your singing was so atrocious I couldn't stand it any longer," Hayate teased.

"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. I-am-a-singing-expert," Akane pouted. The other Leafe Knights appeared from behind the playground and trees. Mannen, Hajime, and Shin said hi and went to go play in the sand while Sasame, Goh, and Kei gathered around Hayate.

"Who's the wall?" Goh asked. Sakana grinned evilly.

"You!" Sakana yelled and jumped onto his back. Goh instinctively hooked her legs so she wouldn't fall. "Onward steed!" she yelled and pointed forward. Everyone sweat dropped while Akane was laughing hysterically. Goh shrugged and, deciding to play along, gave Sakana a short ride around the playground. After one lap he set her down and rubbed his back.

"God, Sakana, next time warn me when you're gonna jump on me," Goh, moaned.

"Hey, I'm not that heavy," Sakana defended.

"Well, you surprised me…but you are kinda short for your age," Goh reasoned.

"Hey! Being short is a good thing 'cuz you can get free piggy back rides!" Sakana exclaimed.

"Right…" Goh said.

"Can I have another one? Pweese?" Sakana asked, giving Goh the infamous puppy dog eyes face.

"Will you two stop that? We have to start training. We don't have all day," Hayate interrupted, obviously irritated. Sakana growled and Akane giggled. Hayate started walking over to an empty area of grass. "Let's go, you three," he said to the three boys, who reluctantly followed. The rest of the Knights and the girls followed behind.

"Alright you two," Hayate turned to the girls. "Pick someone to prêt with. After you train with them, you will switch to a different Knight," Hayate explained. The girls nodded.

"Hey, Sasame, wanna go first?" Sakana asked. Sasame smiled and held out his hand. Sakana took it in a brilliant flash of white light. The light disappeared, and Sakana stood where Sasame would've been, dressed in the Sound Pretear's outfit once again. "I'm ready," Sakana grinned. "Your turn to choose." Akane shifted uncomfortably. She knew who she wanted to chose, but was afraid that he would refuse. She breathed deeply and turned to Hayate.

"Hayate, can I have another chance?" She asked. Hayate glared at her. That was all the answer she needed. He was still mad at her. "Ok," she turned halfway before she was stopped by a powerful hand.

"Fine," he said, his voice low. Akane's eyes lit up, but she was still nervous of what he might do. He offered his hand and Akane took it. Immediately a flash of bluish light enveloped them. Akane could feel Hayate beginning to fuse into her and a soft wind caressed her body. When she was sure the light had gone, she opened her eyes. She was once again dressed in the Wind Pretear's outfit. She looked up and stared at her sister challengingly.

Sakana smirked back. "Bring it on!" she yelled and took a fighting stance while Akane did the same.

"Ok, now on three," Kei called out. "One, two," Kei never finished his count, for Akane and Sakana had already started fighting. They flew up, throwing punches and kicks at each other, each of them missing. Akane, seeing as they wouldn't get anywhere like this, stopped in midair and focused her Leafe into her hands. She felt a soft breeze passed by and opened her eyes.

"Whoa," Sakana let out a dry whistle. "Man, I still can't whistle!" she yelled. "Stop laughing, Sasame!" Akane smirked and took the chance to attack. She flew up and positioned her sword above her sister's head. She slashed at the air and a powerful gust hurtled towards Sakana. Too late Sakana looked up and was hit face first with the gust.

"AHH!" she yelled and plummeted to the ground with a thump. Akane smirked and flew down to the ground next to her sister and extended her hand. Sakana smirked and pulled her sister down with her.

"Ow! Hey, that wasn't fair!" Akane shouted.

"Well, neither was blasting me with air while I wasn't looking!" Sakana protested.

"Well, maybe you should stop worrying about not being able to whistle and start focusing on the training," Akane defended.

"But I can't whistle! Everyone else can," She pouted.

"Ok, stop whining and let's finish this battle," Akane said. They both stood up and took their same spots again. Akane positioned her sword in front of her, both hands on the midnight blue hilt. She watched as a rainbow of light began to surround her sister. She put two fingers to her mouth and blew, sending a wave of sound towards Akane. Akane gasped and jumped out of the way just in time. The ground and trees weren't so lucky.

"_You were lucky that time,"_ Hayate stated.

"No shit, Sherlock!" Akane yelled. "Ok, this time you are going down!" Akane waved her sword in circles above her head, and then thrust it in the air, pointing it towards Sakana, sending a mini tornado towards her. Sakana's eyes widened. She tried shooting another Sonic Arrow, but fumbled with her attack. She flew backwards 20 feet, landing on her butt.

"Ow…. Hey, you alright, Sasame?" she asked. Sasame must've been alright because Sakana sighed and stood.

"Ok, girls, un-prêt with your current Knights. You are gonna switch now," Kei ordered.

"Uh, how exactly do we do that?" Sakana asked. "We didn't un-prêt last time, you guys just came out on your own." Kei sighed and sifted his fingers through his long, blonde hair.

"Just concentrate on letting the Leafe out of your body," he said like it was the simplest thing in the world. The girls nodded and concentrated. Akane felt a breeze caress her body and opened her eyes. Both Sasame and Hayate were standing before them now. Hayate and a scratch or two, but Sasame had several cuts and bruises.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Sasame!" Akane apologized. She had forgotten that the Knights get hurt instead of them. Sasame waved her off.

"No, it's alright. You both did very well," he said calmly and smiled. Akane smiled back and turned to Hayate.

"Thanks, Hayate, for training with me," she said. Hayate didn't say anything, but turned away. Akane growled. From then on she vowed to make him talk to her one way or another.

"Ok, girls, pick a different Knight," Sasame said, and Akane and Sakana looked around.

"Hey, Goh, wanna go next?" Sakana asked. Goh looked around nervously, his spiky red and brown hair swaying slightly, before sighing and holding out his hand. "Yay!" Sakana cheered as she took his hand. Again they were immediately engulfed in a blinding red light. Akane shielded her eyes. When the light died down, Sakana stood there, dressed in the Fire Pretear's outfit. It looked very similar to the Wind Pretear outfit, except with red, white, and orange colors and instead of the wavy blue ribbons, she had a long red and orange cape.

"Ok, my turn," Akane said and turned to Kei. "Wanna go with me, Kei?" she asked, smiling. Kei sighed and gave in. Akane had been able to tell in the short time she had known him that Kei was not very fond of kids; why he was like that was beyond her. She took his outstretched hand and they disappeared in a flash of yellow light. She felt Kei's Leafe fuse within her and the light disappeared. She opened her eyes and found herself in the Light Pretear's outfit. One her shoulders was a yellow and white cape that was attached to a mid-length white and yellow dress.

"Are you ready now?" Sakana asked impatiently.

"Yep," Akane and Sakana took their places and stances again. "Hey, Kei, do I attack the same way as with Hayate? Like by sensing the Leafe or whatever?"

"_Yes, but my attack is different,"_ Kei said.

"Yeah, I figured that." Sakana was already focusing her Leafe energy. A gigantic axe of fire appeared in her hands, causing Akane to step backwards a few feet. After her initial shock, she smirked and concentrated her own Leafe. She immediately sensed the Light Leafe and focused it in her hands, following the instructions Kei was giving her in her mind.

"Fire Axe!" She heard Sakana yell and her eyes shot open. She gaped at the oncoming attack and was thrust aside, not being able to move away in time.

"Kei, are you ok?" Akane asked.

"_Yeah, I'm ok…Hey, watch out!"_ he yelled. Akane looked up to see another oncoming attack. This time she was able to move out of the way in time. Quickly she stood up and refocused her Leafe, bringing it out into her hands. Sakana charged in for another attack just as Akane released her attack.

"Fire Axe!" Sakana cried.

"Light Wind!" Akane cried. With an amazing explosion, the two attacks collided. Akane's eyes widened and she ducked the huge axe.

"Hey, watch where you're aiming that thing! You almost chopped off my head!" Akane shouted.

"Hehe…sorry!" Sakana said and brought her axe back up. "Next time pay attention!"

"There was smoke covering my eyes, dummy! I had an excuse!" Akane argued.

"Whatever. Still, I am gonna beat you!" Sakana swung her axe again. Akane tried to deflect her attack with one of her own, but the axe overpowered it again and she was sent flying across the playground and into the slide.

"Ow…" Akane rubbed her head. "Oo, you are gonna pay for that!" Akane yelled and began to charge in, focusing her attack. She was stopped mid-way; however, buy a certain tall and white-haired Knight.

"Sasame! Why'd you stop me?" Akane asked, eager to finish their fight.

"That is enough for now. Let's stop training for today before anyone gets seriously hurt," He reasoned. The two girls huffed and recalled their attacks reluctantly. In a flash of red and yellow light, the Leafe Knights un-preted with them. Goh only had a small scratch and was virtually unscathed. Kei, however, was not so lucky. He had several cuts and bruises. He no longer looked like a woman, like everyone who didn't know him thought he was.

"Kei, are you ok?" Akane asked, running her fingers over his cuts. He pushed her hand away.

"Yeah, I'm ok." He said and stood tall for emphasis.

"Wow, you guys were almost as good as Himeno!" Mannen shouted, then immediately covered his mouth with his hands.

"Mannen, you idiot!" Goh shouted and slapped him upside the head.

"Himeno? You mean the legendary White Pretear?" Sakana asked. Akane wished she hadn't. She could tell that the mention of Himeno was gonna start something.

"Yes. She had started out just like the two of you, having to fight a demon larva without any practice at first. Then she began to train and became one of the most powerful Pretears in history," Kei explained. "Even for a kid, she was the only one to ever become a White Pretear."

"Yes, we know. We learned about her. But what happened to her?" Akane asked. The Knights shifted their feet uncomfortably and Hayate huffed away. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"She lived a very long life. Her Pretear powers seemed to prolong her death. But even so, she was killed by the new Princess of Disaster, trying to save us, which is why we needed your help," Sasame added. "Her death was mournful to all of us, but not more so than a certain someone," Sasame's silver eyes shifted slightly in Hayate's direction. Immediate pity surged through Akane, even though she knew that the last thing Hayate wanted now was for someone to pity him.

"I know you probably don't want anyone to say this, but I'm sorry, Hayate," she said quietly.

"Save it," he spat.

"Hayate!" Sasame scolded.

"No, it's ok. I knew he would say something like that," Akane said.

"Hayate, she said she was sorry. She can figure out that you cared for Himeno," Sasame said.

"Because you told her about it," Hayate spat.

"But even so, she was just trying to be your friend, just like Himeno had done. And both times, you shunned them. You eventually came to love Himeno. Why can't you accept Akane like you did her? You don't have to love her to do so," Hayate didn't say anything.

"Why'd you have to do that, Hayate?" Sakana yelled. "She was only trying to be your friend!"

"Guys, forget it. If he doesn't want to talk, then don't force him," Akane said, seemingly normal. Sakana, however, had seen this act too many times before to know that she was just hiding everything. Akane let out a big yawn and plopped down on the grass, staring up at the red, orange, and pink sunset.

"Hey, Akane…you ok?" Sakana asked. Akane looked up at her like she had grown another head.

"Yeah, why?"

"It's just…oh, never mind," Sakana sighed and yawned. "Hey, I'm gonna go back home. All this training got me tired. See ya!" Sakana started running towards her house. "Akane, you coming?" She called over her shoulder. Akane nodded and raced after her sister, waving good bye at the Knights.

"You are lucky she took that well," Sasame said.

"Hn. We don't need a stupid girl who can't even handle the Pretear powers," Hayate huffed and turned back towards the direction of his apartment, the other Knights following suit.

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A/N: OMG, I know this chapter sucked. And at the end Hayate used Hiei's famous saying/word. I know it probably doesn't suit him, but w/e.

I originally had Akane running home crying like she did last chapter, but then I was like, "I wouldn't do that!" and since she is kinda modeled after me, I changed it (and I say kinda cause some of the things she is gonna do I wouldn't…hehehe) Ok…I forgot what I was gonna say before…so if I remember I will repost this chapter. Anyways...please review!


	5. Kami, Save us!

Hi! Serena here. Anyways, I'm sorry this chapter took a while to get up, but I was stuck with my Inuyasha story and I just got it up yesterday, so I finished this today. Sorry for the delay!

By the way…I still don't remember what I was gonna say last chapter…

Disclaimer: Me no own Pretear!

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Chapter 5: Kami, Save us!

Akane woke up early the next morning to the sun shining brightly in her eyes. Shielding her eyes with her sleeve, she dragged herself out of bed and looked at the clock.

"It's only 10:00," she groaned before a thought crossed her mind. If it was 10:00, that meant a certain someone was still asleep, and now would be the perfect time to get revenge. Grinning evilly, she quickly got dressed in a black shirt and some jeans before creeping over to her sister's room across the hallway. She opened the door slowly, grateful that it didn't squeak. Sakana was, thankfully, sleeping soundly on her black and white bed. Akane's smirk widened and she tip-toed next to her sister's bed.

"Sakana, wake up, Sleeping Beauty," she cooed and poked Sakana's side. Sakana rolled over so she was now facing Akane. Akane forced down fits of laughter as she looked at her sister's face. Drool trickled down the corner of her mouth. She suddenly clutched her covers tightly.

"Fine, don't say hi to me!" she mumbled in her sleep. Soft giggles escaped her mouth before she cursed under her breath. Her camera just had to be at the store just when she needed it most. Perfect timing. She sighed.

"Oh, well. Guess I'll just have to wake her up the hard way," Akane shrugged and grinned evilly. "HEY GOH! SO NICE TO SEE YOU!" Akane yelled into her sister's ear. Sakana screamed and jumped off her bed, scrambling to get up.

"What? Where!" Sakana looked around frantically for the said person. When she found no one, she glared at her sister. "Why'd you say Goh was here when he isn't?"

"Oh, I just wanted to have some fun to wake you up," Akane said simply.

"Did you _have _to scream in my ear? I mean," Sakana looked at her alarm clock, "It's not even 10:30 yet!"

"I know," Akane grinned.

"So why'd you wake me up? We don't have school tomorrow!"

"Exactly!" Sakana sweat dropped. "We don't have school for a while! Let's cheer!"

"Hip, hip, Hooray!" they cheered simultaneously. "Hip, hip, Hooray! Hip, hip-"

"_B_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o_o…_!" eerie voices called out. Akane and Sakana froze in their places.

"Wha…what was that?" Sakana asked quietly. Akane didn't answer. Her mind was racing. Maybe it was a demon larva. Maybe their house really _was_ haunted. She didn't know. She walked over to the window towards the direction they heard the voices. Closing her eyes, she slowly opened the window. When nothing happened, she opened one eyes and then the other.

"There's nothing here," she told Sakana as she looked out of her second story window. The grounds were quiet. No one was out making any unusual noises. Suddenly she heard giggling and looked down. She saw a spike of white hair sticking up from the bushes and scowled.

"MANNEN!" Akane and Sakana yelled. Sakana had joined Akane when she heard the giggling. They heard voices and then rustling from the bushes before three boys rushed out of them.

"Hajime and Shin, too? Shin, I thought you were on our side!" Akane whined and turned to Sakana. "Get dressed."

"Why?"

"If we hurry we can catch them," Akane grinned evilly. Sakana did the same and began searching for clothes to wear. Akane went back to her own room and did the same.

Five minutes later, both girls were at the door, ready to go little boy hunting.

"Let's go!" Akane called out. She was stopped by Sakana's hand on her shoulder.

"Wait, how do we know where they went?" she asked.

"Don't worry," Akane assured her sister. "If I know them, then I know exactly where they went." With that, the girls walked out the door of their home and headed for the Knights' apartments.

"How did you know they live here?" Sakana asked when they reached the Knights' apartments. They lived in the highest floor in one of the fanciest rooms in one of the most expensive apartment complexes. How they could afford it was beyond her.

"This is the only apartment complex over here," Akane explained.

"Oh." Akane took a deep breath before barging in.

"FBI! Put your hands in the air and no one will get hurt…much," Akane added and smirked. She could probably guess what Sakana's face looked like and laughed slightly.

"Who's making all that noise?" A tired voice came from the room next to them. They turned to see a groggy Goh walking out of his room. The Pretears burst into fits of giggles. He was wearing long, silky pj's with little yellow bunnies everywhere. His usually neat spiky hair looked like a tornado had just passed through it. Talk about bed hair.

"Ha! You wear pj's with little yellow bunnies!" Sakana cried out and pointed at Goh. He perked up, and when he saw them laughing, looked down, blushed, and rushed back into his room. "No, wait! I was just kidding! Can you help us find Mannen, Hajime, and Shin?" Sakana cried out through the door to his room. When no answer came she sighed. "Darn."

"Oh well. We can find them on our own," Akane said. Sakana nodded and together they began their search for the unfortunate boys.

Their search ended in about ten minutes when the girls came across a certain room. They could her yelling and a TV playing inside.

"Ok, on three, we'll burst in there, tackle them, and tickle them till they cry 'Uncle!' ok?" Akane instructed.

"Do they have to say 'uncle'?" Sakana asked.

"No…but it would be funny if they did!" they giggled. "Ok, on three. One…"Akane put her hand on the door handle. "Two…" she looked around to make sure no one else was around. "Three!" she shouted and they barged into the room. The three boys screamed as they were tackled to the ground. Akane tackled Mannen while Sakana took Hajime. They left Shin alone…for now.

"Hey, come on! Let us go! What'd we do?" Mannen shouted. He struggled to get out of Akane's grasp, but to no avail.

"You know perfectly well what you three did," Akane hissed playfully. She kept a firm hand on his shoulder. "Now, if you want to escape this room dry, then I suggest you apologize."

"Never!" He shouted. Akane and Sakana exchanged evil grins.

"I'm sorry," Shin said quietly. Akane and Sakana glanced over at him. He was near tears-probably afraid that he will be tickled to death next.

"Thank you, Shin. You can leave if you want or you can stay and watch these two get tortured," Akane said.

"Hey, how come he gets off?" Hajime interrupted.

"Because he said he was sorry," Akane said simply.

"And no one can resist that adorable face," Sakana cooed.

"Now, you guys can either follow his example, or suffer a very painful punishment," Akane warned. The boys said nothing and continued to struggle. How stubborn and egotistical.

"Ok, you guys asked for it," Sakana cracked her knuckles. The girls raised their free hands.

"One…two…three!" Akane shouted and their hands went down for their targets.

"Ahhhhh!" She shouted, making everyone jump. Her cell phone was buzzing in her pocket, sending little vibrations up her body. She cursed as she took it out of her pocket and answered the call.

"God, she scared me half to death," Sakana said, her hand over her chest. The boys nodded in agreement.

"Hello?" Akane asked. "Yeah. We are at a friend's house. Yes, we're fine. Yes, I locked the door. Now? Do we have to? Aw, come on, Mom! Fine… Bye," Akane slumped and ended the call.

"What happened?" Sakana asked. Before she could answer, Hayate and Sasame burst through the door.

"What the hell is all that screaming?" Hayate yelled as he barged through. He looked around the room, at us and at the boys on the ground. "What the hell is going on here?"

"Well, you see…" Sakana began.

"These three boys decided to play a little prank on us this morning and we came here for payback. Shin apologized, but the other two didn't, so they had to pay the price," Akane said matter-of-factly. Hayate gave them a strange look while Sasame just smiled.

"So what did Mom say?" Sakana interrupted.

"Your mother called?" Sasame said.

"Yeah. She wants us to go home. She said there's something important she has to tell us. I don't know why she couldn't have told me over the phone," Akane shrugged.

"Your mother probably has very good reasons," Sasame said. "Would you like us to take you there?"

"No thanks, but you guys can come with us if you want," Akane suggested.

"That's ok. I have to stay and watch these three," Sasame pointed over to the three boys on the floor still. "Hayate, why don't you go with them?" Hayate glared at Sasame.

"You don't have to go, you know," Akane said.

"Just get your stuff," he said and walked out the door. Akane and Sakana just stared.

"What's with him? Does he still hate me?" Akane asked Sasame.

"No, he doesn't hate you. He's just having a hard time accepting you two," he explained.

"Accepting us? For what?" Sakana asked.

"As the new Pretears," he answered. "You girls remind him a lot of Himeno."

"Oh," the girls said simultaneously.

"Don't worry, though. He'll accept you eventually." This lightened the mood slightly and the girls smiled.

"Come on. We'd better hurry. I really don't want to see Hayate more distant than he already is," Akane said and rushed out the door, Sakana on her tail.

"Hey, where is everyone going?" Goh asked just as they were about to leave. He was now dressed in jeans and a red t-shirt and his hair was back to its neat, spiky self.

"We're going over to our house. Wanna come?" Sakana offered. Akane heard Hayate growl softly.

"Sure!" he said and walked with them out the door.

Twenty minutes later, they were standing on their front porch.

"Wow, you guys have a nice house," Goh let out a low whistle. It was true. Their house was more like a mansion; it had two stories; there were six bedrooms and 3 bathrooms; they had a kitchen big enough to fit twenty people in with plenty of room to move around; Their front porch looked like the deck of the White House, with small stairs leading up to the door; Gardens of vivid flowers surrounded the house and the walkway. Akane took out her key and unlocked the door.

"Welcome to our house," Akane said and motioned for everyone to enter. The living room itself was a sight to see; you probably could have fit the Knights' entire apartment inside it. It had oak wood furniture, everything from the bookcases full of books to the coffee tables. It had a pretty-nice-sized plasma screen TV hung on the wall in between the bookcases. Lining the walls were a couple of sofas, loveseat, and recliners, perfect for a huge party. The walls were a nice golden yellow, the floor carpeted with red.

"Are you sure this is the right house?" Goh asked, amazed.

"Yep," Akane answered.

"I think we would know our own house," Sakana added.

"Akane! Sakana! There you girls are!" a grown woman embraced the girls in a (literally) breath-taking hug. She had brown hair with red highlights and was wearing what seemed to be a business outfit.

"Mom, we can't…breathe," Akane gasped for air.

"Oh, sorry," their mom let the girls go, their faces losing their nice shade of blue. She looked over the girls shoulders, noticing the Knights just standing there. "Girls, who are those men?" Akane and Sakana shifted uncomfortably. "No, please don't tell me you girls are pregnant!" she began to pull at her hair.

"Mom! We're not pregnant!" Akane shouted, blushing.

"Yeah! They're our new friends," Sakana added.

"What's all the commotion?" a man came strolling down the stairs. He salt and pepper hair and was also dressed in a business suit.

"Mom's over-reacting," Akane answered.

"Really?" their father looked at them skeptically. His gaze passed the Leafe Knights. "Who are your friends?"

"That's what she's over-reacting about. She thinks we are pregnant, but we are _not_!" Sakana said.

"Well then, why don't you introduce us?" asked their father.

"This guy is Goh," Sakana introduced Goh.

"Hiya!" Goh smiled and shook their father's hand.

"Hello. It is very nice to meet you."

"And this is Hayate, Dad," Akane introduced Hayate.

"Hello," Hayate bowed.

"Oh, there's no need for bowing!" the girls' father smiled. "My name is Mr. Himura, and this is my wife." After everyone was acquainted, their mother sat down on the couch.

"Come and sit, girls. There is something we need to tell you," she said and the girls took a seat. Goh and Hayate took the hint to leave the room. "You may stay if you wish," she offered and the Knights took a seat next to the girls.

"So, what's this all about anyway?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, we were having funny torturing Mannen and Hajime," Sakana pouted.

"Who are Mannen and Hajime?" their mother asked.

"Oh, they are Goh and Hayate's little brothers," Akane lied. Hayate gave her a questioning look, which she answered with her own, telling him to follow along.

"Where do you come from?" Mr. Himura asked.

"We are getting off topic here!" Akane interrupted.

"Oh, right. Yes, well. Girls, your mother and I will be going on another business trip to China, and we will be gone for a month," their father explained.

"What! A month! What are you guys doing, buying China?" Sakana exclaimed.

"No, honey. Our malls are so successful here that they have asked us if we could build one of our malls there. We are flying there to settle a deal and draw up a blueprint," Mrs. Himura explained.

"Ok, so what are we supposed to do?" Akane asked. What in the world were they supposed to do for a whole month?

"You girls will be staying here, unless you would rather go to a relative's house?" Mr. Himura suggested.

"Nah, we'll be fine here," Akane said.

"Ok, then. We have to go now. We can't stay long or we'll miss our plane," their mother smiled and gave them a big hug and kiss before grabbing her luggage by the door and exiting. Their father did the same and followed his wife out to the taxi waiting outside. Akane and Sakana watched from the window as the taxi rode away. An awkward silence fell over the group.

"Ok, so now what are we supposed to do?" Sakana asked.

"Hey, I've got an idea!" Akane turned to Goh and Hayate. "Why don't you guys stay here?" Both of the Knights gave her strange looks. "We have the house to ourselves, and it gets pretty boring. You guys won't have to live in that cramped apartment and most of you will get your own room," she pointed out.

"Ok, I'm in!" Goh exclaimed enthusiastically. Sakana's eyes lit up and she cheered.

"Hayate, you wanna stay?" Akane asked. Hayate stared at her for a few seconds before sighing.

"Fine," he gave in and Akane cheered with her sister.

"Let's go get everyone else," Sakana suggested. Everyone nodded.

"Wait, how many bedrooms do you have?" Goh asked. Hayate stopped and turned to the girls.

"Six rooms. Why?" Sakana answered.

"There aren't enough rooms for all of us, then," Hayate pointed out. Akane thought about this for a moment.

"Yes there are. Mannen, Hajime, and Shin could sleep in one room; me and Sakana could sleep in another; so you four each have your own room," Akane said.

"Yeah, we could do that," Sakana agreed.

"Fine. Let's go," Hayate said abruptly and walked off. Everyone watched his retreating back before they realized they were being left behind.

"Hey, wait up!" Akane yelled. When he didn't slow down, she growled, the realization hit her: living with the Leafe Knights was gonna be hell; when you have 3 little kids, a man who doesn't like kids, a clueless guy, and a cold and distant guy under the same roof, you know that all hell will break loose. Give them elemental powers, and you will be praying in bed every night that your house and sanity will remain intact.

* * *

A/N: Ok…I think this chapter wasn't very good…but oh well. We don't have a mansion, although i wish we did.There will be a special guest coming in the next chapter. The person is based on one of my friends, but not totally. (And I told the person that I would put them in this chapter…Sorry, but I had to stop this chapter here) Anyways, I got some reviews!

Replies:

Dreamgirllogan: Yep, E (Sakana) is always helping me out and stuff, although Sakana is a bit different from her. Not by much, but just a little. Same thing with me and Akane. And don't worry, Hayate will eventually accept the girls…I hope (Readers: What do you mean, "You hope"? You're the author!) Thanks for reviewing!

E: Yeah, I know "hn" doesn't suit him, but I wanted to put it in there. Anyways, thanks for reviewing (even though I already sent you the chapter before)!

hhhhhmmmmm...: We don't hate Florida, it's just too darn hot! I can't wait for winter to come…/sighs/. Anyways, I like your idea. Maybe I should do that? Or maybe do this /thinks about an idea, or maybe I could even do that /think another idea/. Gah! Too many ideas! Lol. Thanks for reviewing!

Thank you everyone who reviewed! You guys make me feel all bubbly inside /hugs self/ lol. Anyways, please review! I love hearing what you guys say, even if it is a flame.


	6. Enter Yumi, the Older One

Hi guys! Sorry this took a while, but I've had a lot of stuff to do for school…and I've also been a bit lazy. Hehehe. I've also started a new story and work on all my other ones, so yeah. Not a very good idea to work on ten stories at once (I really only have five).

Responses:

Inuyumi: Lol. Yeah. You finally make your entrance here! I have a feeling you probably wouldn't do what I had you do here, but don't worry. You be back to normal later. Thanks for reviewing! (By the way, I have Princess Mononoke if you wanna watch it before the hurricane comes…)

DDI: Yes, the evil FCAT and heat. Thankfully it is getting colder (if you can call 85 or so degrees getting colder). But we are about to be drenched by Wilma Flintstone (my little nickname for the hurricane). Yep…stupid hurricanes…at least we get off from school. Thanks for reviewing. Glad you like my story.

Disclaimer: If I really owned Pretear, do you think I would be here?

* * *

Chapter 6

"Hurry up, slowpokes!" Sakana shouted through the door to the little boys' door.

"Yeah, really. My grandma can pee faster than you guys are moving!" Akane added. Sakana laughed and Mannen poked his head out the door.

"What do you mean 'your grandma can pee faster'?" Mannen cocked a white eyebrow.

"It's an expression, dummy, now hurry up! We're not getting any younger, you know," Akane shoved him back through the door. Mannen grumbled and continued to pack his things.

"Are they ready yet?" Goh came up to them.

"No, they're not! It's been half an hour already! It's like they're packing up all of their stuff _and _their neighbor's house into a tiny little suitcase that probably won't be able to fit more than a few pairs of clothes!" Sakana yelled in frustration, throwing up her hands.

"If they're not ready within five minutes, we're leaving without them," Hayate said, carrying his bag from his room. Sasame and Kei followed behind him, each carrying their own bag(s). Scrambling could be heard in the boys' room. Shin calmly walked out with his small bag and teddy bear. One down, two to go.

Next to come out was Hajime. He had his own bag, which was slightly bigger and more bulging than Shin's.

Finally, Mannen made it out of the room, towing a huge bag that was almost as big as him. Just what in the world did he pack?

"What in the world did you guys pack? Your TV?" Sakana asked.

"Nope, our Xbox and Game cube," Hajime said simply. Akane and Sakana sweat dropped.

"Go put them back," Akane ordered.

"What! Why?" Mannen and Hajime protested.

"Because we have all of the game systems, that's why!" Akane yelled. "You can bring your games if you want, though." The boys' eyes lit up before they hastily went back into their room and unpacked the unnecessary items.

"Ok, we're ready!" They said.

"Finally," Hayate huffed and started towards the door to their small apartment. Everyone else followed in tow as they dragged their bags.

"You guys sure you don't want any help carrying those?" Sakana asked.

"Yes, we are fine. Thanks anyways," Sasame smiled.

"Ok, suit yourselves," Sakana shrugged.

"Wow," the boys let out a dry whistle as they gazed upon the beautiful mansion.

"Welcome to our house," Akane and Sakana opened the doors for everyone else to file in. They walked into the middle of the living rooms and set their bags down by their feet as they gazed around the room.

"Are you sure this is a house and not some museum or something?" Mannen commented.

"Yep," Sakana said proudly.

"Ok, so once you guys are done ogling at the living room, let's go put your stuff in your rooms and we'll give you a tour of the house, ok?" Akane offered. "Yeah!" the boys tore their eyes away and rushed by the girls' side, eager to see their rooms and the rest of the house.

"Ok, now let's go!" Sakana shouted and marched onward to the boys' room first.

"You guys will have to share a room, otherwise we won't have enough bedrooms for everyone," Akane said. The ecstatic boys ignored her comment and continued to awe at the hallways as they passed by, filled with paintings. They were painted a crimson red and golden yellow, like most of the house. Finally reaching the wooden staircase that matched the floor, the continued their journey.

"This is your room," Akane said once they reached a wooden door and pushed it open. The small Leafe Knights' jaws dropped at the sight in front of them. Their room was painted with blues and greens, matching their won powers. It contained two king sized beds and a nice big screen TV that was hooked up to about 5 gaming systems. To the right of that was a whole bookcase full of games for each of the systems.

The boys rushed in, throwing their bags down, and rushed over to the video games. They already began to fight over what game they should play first.

"Well, I guess they'll be busy for a while," Akane smiled and led everyone out of the soon-to-be disaster area of a room. They walked down the hallway with the four remaining Leafe Knights and turned the corner to an even longer hallway.

"Kami, this house is _huge_!" Goh commented. Only a few doors lined the walls, but each led to a humungous room.

"Kei, you can have this room," Akane offered.

"Thanks," he said and opened the door. They were immediately met by the blinding sunlight that poured through the window. Finally, their eyes adjusted to the intense light and they were able to gaze around the room. It was decorated in bright pastel colors.

"Wow, it's very…bright," Kei stuttered.

"Yeah, but we figured you'd like this room best." Sakana explained, making Akane giggle slightly. The Knight of Light (hey that rhymed) glared at her, quieting her instantly. Now Sakana was giggling, but at her sister.

"Ok, let's go do someone else's room next!" Akane said suddenly and rushed out of the room. Sakana laughed harder; the remaining Knights blinked, but followed.

"Is he always that scary?" Akane asked once the door shut.

"No. I've never seen him like that," Goh said playfully. Unfortunately, Akane didn't take it as a joke.

"Thanks, that really makes a girl feel better," Akane pouted.

"Hey, I'm just kidding. He's like that most of the time with Mannen, Hajime, and Shin," Goh laughed, trying to cheer Akane up. Akane glared at him for a minute, and Goh immediately ceased.

"Oh! Can we show Goh his room next? Pretty please?" Sakana broke the awkward silence. She stuck out her lower lip and gave Akane the infamous puppy dog eyes expression. She could execute it so well; it was lethal.

"Fine," Akane sighed. They only walked a short way before stopping outside a huge wooden black door.

"That's usually my room, that's why the door's black," Sakana explained.

"Are you sure you don't mind me staying in it, then?" Goh asked sheepishly.

"Relax, you can have your own big room for a month," Sakana smiled. Goh relaxed and opened the door to Sakana's room. The Knights narrowed their eyes to try and see into the room. Sakana had the room with no windows, so they turned on the light switch.

"Whoa," was all Goh could say. Sakana's room was decorated with black, violet, and red. In the middle of the wall was a king-sized black and gray bed. Over in one corner she had a desk that was crowded with papers, books, and her personal computer. In another corner she had her bookcase, full of mangas, books, and sketchpads full of drawings she had created in school and in her free time. Her dresser and closet took up one whole wall, which was opposite her bed.

"And the floor is really comfy," Sakana pointed to the carpeted floor, which was a dark purple. To prove her point she plopped herself on the floor and just laid there.

"Yeah, so you'd better be careful at night if you want to get up. You just might find a little surprise," Akane joked and Sakana glared.

"Wow, thanks, girls," Goh continued to awe at Sakana's room.

"I think we'll leave so you two can get to know each other better," Akane said and led everyone else out of the room.

"What are all of the extra rooms?" Sasame asked as they walked over to the next room.

"Well, our parents own the Sawgrass mall here, so we have a lot of extra stuff from different stores; my mom likes to do cross-stitch, so there's a lot of needle work, too," Akane explained. They stopped in front of the next door next to Sakana's room.

"Ok, Sasame, want this room?" Akane asked.

"Sure," he said and smiled. Sakana opened the door to a very…interesting room. The walls were painted with a mix of bright and dark greens while the carpet was a cerulean blue. The bed inside was queen-sized, with velvet, blue sheets. This room was furnished in a similar way to Sakana's, with a bookcase and messy desk and computer in corners and a walk-in closet and dresser on a separate wall.

"Wait a minute, this is Yumi's room," Akane realized.

"Yumi?" Sasame asked.

Sakana replied, "Yeah she's our older sis, but she's never home."

"How come?" he asked.

"She goes to this private boarding school. She usually stays there because her friends are there but she comes home once in a while," Akane explained.

"Why don't you all go to the same school then?" Hayate asked.

"Because since she was the oldest, she got to go to a private school. Mom and Dad thought they weren't going to have any more kids, and they had just enough money to send her," Sakana pouted.

"Oh, I see," Sasame pitied. "Are you sure it's alright I sleep here, then?"

"Yeah, Yumi usually doesn't stay long. She just comes by for a day or so and then goes back," Akane reassured. Sasame smiled before entering his new room and shutting the door.

"Ok, last but not least…your room, Hayate," Akane announced and led everyone across the hallway to a door very similar to the others around it. Turning the doorknob, they were greeted b y a simple room with bright blue walls and pure white carpet. Silk silver covers and midnight blue pillows gave the queen-sized bed a royal look. Once again, this room was furnished in a similar way to all the others, but all the furniture was placed in different places.

"This is…interesting," Hayate blinked at the colors.

"What?" Akane stared at him skeptically. Hayate stared at her for a moment.

"Never mind. It's nothing (he says that ALL the time in the anime!)," he sighed. Akane pouted and sighed.

"Well, see ya then. We're gonna give anyone a tour," Akane said and left the room, Sakana in tow.

"Hey! Akane, wait up!" Akane stopped and glanced back.

"What?" she questioned as Sakana reached Akane, panting.

"Who said we were giving everyone a tour?" Sakana put her hands on her hips.

"Remember I said that earlier?" Sakana's face remained blank for a few moments before the light bulb finally turned on.

"Oh yeah. Now I remember!" she exclaimed and Akane laughed.

"Come on. Let's go wait downstairs for everyone so we can give them a tour," Akane announced and led Sakana down the stairs back to the living room. Sakana glanced around at her house as they made their way down the stairs.

"We'll be grandmas by the time we finish touring," Sakana sighed.

"Come on, the house isn't _that_ big," Akane laughed.

"Have you seen the size of this house lately?" Sakana stared at her.

"Yeah…and?" Akane countered with her own stare.

"…never mind," Sakana sighed in defeat as they reached the living room. "Wait, how are they gonna find their way back?"

Akane thought for a moment. "I don't know…"

"Hey, I know! Let's wait until we find their bodies in some closet," Sakana suggested and Akane sweat dropped.

"Wow, you're so creative," Akane rolled her eyes, "but you know we need to find them _alive_."

"Aw, do we have to?" Sakana asked. Akane slapped her forehead with her hand and shook her head disapprovingly.

Ten minutes of almost complete silence went by as the girls waited impatiently for the Leafe Knights to come down. They waited…and waited…and waited some more until they couldn't take it anymore (hey that rhymed!).

"Do you think they are dead yet?" Sakana interrupted the silence.

"Think who's dead?" Goh, followed by the other Leafe Knights, came from the hallway leading to the stairs.

"Hey, you're not dead!" Sakana exclaimed. She ran up and stopped in front of the tall Leafe Knight. Eyeing him curiously, she circled him a few times, at the same time poking his body. "Nope, he's not dead!" She pronounced and hugged the confused Knight.

"Uh, Sakana?" Akane poked her sister's shoulder. "I think you can let go of him now," she pointed up to Goh's pink face. Sakana flushed and immediately backed away.

"Hehehe, sorry," she smiled weakly.

"It's ok. You have a really strong grip," he commented, rubbing his sides. Sakana grinned.

Suddenly, the sound of a key turning in the front door could be heard, making everyone except Hayate, Kei, and Sasame jump five feet in the air. Hayate stood in front of the girls, ready to defend them while the others were cowering behind them or scanning the room for the intruder.

"Is anyone supposed to be here?" Goh asked.

"No, not that we know of," Akane answered.

"There's a girl standing outside," Sasame stated. Akane stared at him, wondering how he knew. She slapped herself mentally. He was the Leafe Knight of Sound, of course he knew.

The door clicked open and a tall girl with shoulder length ebony hair sauntered inside. She looked to be no taller than Akane, but looked a couple of years older.

"Akane, Sakana, I'm home," she shouted as the door shut behind her. Her eyes fell upon the group in front of her and the widened. "What the hell…" she muttered.

Akane was the first to break the awkward silence. "H-hi, Yumi," she stuttered.

"That's Yumi?" Goh asked.

"What in the world is going on here? Who are these guys? And where's Mom and Dad?" Yumi asked.

"Well, it's kind of a long story…" Akane trailed off. This was going to be a long day.

* * *

A/N: You know what I just noticed (sort of)? Akane and Sakana and all the other names are Japanese, yet I said that they were American. Well, don't worry. I'll clear that up soon. Just not now. Procrastinators unite!...tomorrow… lol. I love that line. Anyways, please review. 


	7. Two Pretears are Better than One!

Hey, guys! I'm back! Sorry this took so long. I updated my Inuyasha story first because that is my first priority when I have ideas. Sorry for the delay.

Review Responses: By the way, if you haven't figured out by now, all the people that have their names underlined are authors on this site.

Mystlady: Wow, that's a really good idea. Although I don't remember much about Sailor Moon and I wasn't able to watch a lot of it cause I didn't get home from school until late. But I will defiantly consider the Inu/Pretear crossover. Thanks for reviewing.

Dreamgirllogan: Yay! I'm glad you survived Wilma. I haven't had school for almost two weeks, and I just learned that I won't have school for the rest of the week. More time to do the evil science fair. Oh joy. Anyways, thanks for reviewing. P.S., I was this witch thingy for Halloween, with a black wig and everything.

randomdude: Ok, this is the last time I am gonna say this. I know Sakana means fish. For my friend E's story, we were looking for a name for her character (in her story and mine. Look on my profile for it) and I was using this Japanese translator. She was naming random animals and she liked the name Sakana. So, I hope that clears things up for anyone who's wondering. Thanks for reviewing.

InuYumi: Glad you liked your entrance. Although, I somehow have you acting a lot like me in this chapter. Hehehe. I'll try and make you normal next chapter…wait. Normal is not good. I try and make you normal here, and that would be disaster. You know what I mean, right?

Disclaimer: I don't own Pretear for the last time, you mangy lawyers/throws the nearest object towards them, which just happens to be tuna/

* * *

Chapter 7

"What?" Yumi cocked an eyebrow at her sisters.

"You aren't mad at us because we took your room, are you?" Sakana looked up at her sister, hopeful.

"Wait a minute," Yumi ignored her sister and glanced over at the Leafe Knights standing behind them. She walked over to Sasame.

"Can I help you?" he asked as Yumi circled and pokedhim.

"Prove to me that you guys are really the Leafe Knights," Yumi crossed her arms over her chest.

Hayate sighed. "And how do you suppose we do that?"

"If you guys really are the mythical Knights of Leafe, then…you should be able to prêt with the Pretear!" Yumi smirked. Hayate looked completely disgusted.

"Fine, we'll prêt, but we are getting right back to normal once we do," Hayate spat.

"Boy, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Akane muttered.

"Oh, can I prêt with Goh again?" Sakana begged.

"Sure, go ahead," Akane shrugged.

"Yay!" Sakana squealed while Goh tried to hide behind Sasame.

"Ha! Goh's afraid of a girl!" Mannen teased, earning a glare from Goh.

"I am not afraid!" Goh defended.

"Then prove it," Hajime dared.

"Fine!" Goh huffed and strutted in front of a grinning Sakana.

"Let's go, Steed!" Sakana shouted and grabbed Goh's hand. They two disappeared in a brilliant flash of red light. The light subsided, leaving a Fire Pretear in its place.

"Wow," Yumi let out a dry whistle.

"That is so not fair!" Sakana huffed.

"What?" Yumi blinked.

"Why is it that everyone else on this entire planet can whistle but me?" Sakana yelled, causing everyone to cringe slightly.

"I don't know. You're just special I guess," Yumi said and turned to Akane. "What about you, Akane? Didn't you say you both were Pretears?"

"Yeah, we are, but…" Akane let her sentence trail off as she looked over towards an annoyed Hayate. _What am I thinking!_ Akane scolded herself. _Forget it. This is stupid, _she finalized. Standing tall, she walked over to her Leafe Knight of choice.

"Yes?" Sasame cocked his head slightly. Akane held out her hand in response. Still slightly confused as to why she had chosen him, Sasame took her hand, and the two disappeared in a flash of white light. Akane's sense of hearing increased ten fold as she felt Sasame's Leafe fuse with her own.

"Holy hell," Yumi let another whistle escape her lips. Akane paid her no mind and glanced over at Hayate. He was staring at her, his expression unreadable; however, for a split second Akane thought she could see a slight tinge of jealousy show in his eyes before she blinked and the emotion disappeared. Akane smirked slightly.

"Wow, so you guys really are the Leafe Knights," Yumi stared, wide-eyed at the Knights and the Sound and Fire Pretears.

"Yep," Sakana grinned.

"Hey, can I see some of your attacks?" Yumi asked excitedly.

"Sure!" Akane said as she and Sakana raced out the door, all the others in tow.

"Ok, so do you want us to fight or do you want to just see our powers?" Sakana asked.

"Oh, fight, fight!" Yumi exclaimed, jumping up and down in excitement.

"Ok, Sakana. Be prepared to lose," Akane taunted.

"Oh yeah? Fire can beat sound any day because…" Sakana fiddled for a reason. "…just because I said so!"

Akane blinked. "Well, let's prove that little theory of yours wrong," Akane rose into the air and focused her Leafe.

"Fire Axe!" cried Sakana as a giant axe of fire materialized in her hands. She swung it around a few times, showering the other Knights with little sparks before she followed her sister in the air.

"Hey, watch where you're swinging that thing!" Kei cried.

"Wow, you guys can fly?" Yumi stared in awe at her sisters, oblivious to the sparks of fire. "Oh my god, I have aliens for sisters! AAHHHHH!" Yumi screamed.

Akane sweat dropped. "We are not aliens!"

"Ready, Akane?" Sakana interrupted, swinging her axe in the air.

"Hey, seriously. Watch where you're swinging that thing!" Hajime cried as dozens of little sparks showered him.

"Oh, quit being such a baby. You could always douse the fire with your power, anyways," Akane retorted and Hajime pouted. Akane refocused he Leafe, meditating in mid-air.

Sakana let out a battle cry and charged towards Akane, startling her out of her meditation. "Ah!" she shouted and quickly dodged the attack.

"Stay still, would ya? I can't hit you if you don't," Sakana smirked.

"Too bad, then, 'cause I really don't feel like getting burnt to a crisp right now!" Akane shouted and quickly recollected her Leafe. "Sonic Arrow!" she shouted. A blast of sound rocketed towards her sister. Sakana, seeing almost no where to go, tried defending herself and Goh with the axe. The attack collided with it in a blast of smoke.

Sakana coughed. She couldn't see where she or her sister was. Akane smirked and took this chance to attack. She flew in towards her sister's silhouette in the smoke and ash. Just as she was about to land a punch, a gust of wind from below stopped her in her tracks. She looked down. Hayate was using his power to blow the smoke away!

"Hayate, what are you doing?" Akane asked, surprised.

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm blowing the smoke away so your sister can see what she's doing," Hayate said simply.

"But…I was about to win!" she whined.

"Well, too bad, cause I'm gonna win this one," a voice called behind her. Akane spun around quickly to come face to face with Sakana, who had an evil grin on her face. "Fists of Fire!" she shouted and her fists erupted in flames. She punched Akane in the gut, sending her flying towards the ground.

"Ow," Akane groaned in pain.

"Akane, you okay?" Mannen, Hajime, and Shin shouted.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Akane smiled. "But how the hell did she learn that attack? I thought she only had one, just like everyone else- the Fire Axe?" Akane gazed at her sister curiously.

"Ha! I won this time!" Sakana gloated as she touched the ground.

"What the hell was that? 'Fists of Fire'? I thought you only had the Fire Axe?" Akane bombarded her sister with questions to her sudden victory.

"Yep. Goh said I could concentrate my Leafe into my hands, so I did and gave it a name!" Sakana grinned and stood proudly.

_You are able to do the same, Akane,_ Sasame advised.

"Well, why didn't you tell me that sooner?" Akane yelled. "Never mind. Sorry," she sighed and un-preted with the Knight of Sound.

"Don't yell at Sasame!" Yumi scolded. "The Sonic Arrow, or whatever you called it, is basically the same thing as what Sakana used. You just focused your Leafe into your mouth instead of your fists."

"Yeah, don't blame Sasame because you lost for once in your life," Sakana taunted.

"I've lost things before, Sakana. I'm not perfect," Akane countered. Just as Sakana was about to retort, Akane cut her off. "Never mind, just drop it, ok? Sorry for yelling, Sasame."

"That's alright," he smiled at her in reassurance.

"So do you believe we are the Pretears now?" Sakana asked her sister.

"Yep," Yumi answered. "But one thing is still bugging me. Why are there _two_ Pretears? I thought there was only supposed to be one?""

"Yeah, why are there two of us?" Akane and Sakana asked.

The Knights shifted uncomfortably. Sasame broke the awkward silence. "We are not exactly sure why there happened to be two Pretears; however, we think it is because you two are twin sisters," Sasame guessed.

"But still. Isn't there supposed to be only one Princess of Life?" Akane pointed out.

"Yes, that is what we thought," Sasame sighed.

"I didn't believe it when Hayate told us there were two Pretears," Kei said.

"I think it's because it means more kids," Mannen whispered in the sisters' ears.

"Hey, I heard that!" Kei shouted and Mannen ducked behind Sakana.

"Mannen, quit being such a wimp," Goh said and Akane laughed.

"Well, I guess two Pretears are better than one. At least I hope you two can watch each other's backs," Yumi laughed.

"Yep, we won't have to worry about you breathing down our necks," Sakana added, receiving a hard slap on her head "Ow! Hey, what was that for?"

"For being a smart ass," Yumi answered. Sakana scowled.

Akane's stomach decided it wanted to be heard. "Hehehe," she laughed sheepishly as everyone stared at her. "Who's hungry for some ramen?"

"Oh, me!" Sakana and the young Knights cheered and rushed into the house.

"Yeah, I'm up for some ramen, too!" Goh agreed and followed.

Akane sweat dropped. "Well, I'm glad we have a pantry full of ramen."

"Those guys are bottomless pits when it comes to ramen," Kei warned.

"Don't worry. When you've lived with Sakana all your life and your parents are always working, you learn to keep a huge stash of ramen ready for emergencies," Akane explained.

* * *

"Ok, what flavor do you guys want?" Akane asked everyone once they were settled at the huge wood table.

"Who cares, just get us some ramen!" Sakana exclaimed.

"Ok, ok. Hold your horses," Akane chose several of each flavor of ramen and prepared several huge pots of water, turning the stove on.

"We have horses?" Shin asked innocently.

"No, Shin. It's just a figure of speech," Sasame explained.

"There are different kinds of ramen?" Hajime asked.

"Yep. There's chicken, roasted chicken, creamy chicken, beef, roasted beef…," Sakana continued to list the many delectable flavors of ramen, causing the boys and Goh's mouth to water.

"Ramen's almost ready!" Akane called out from the kitchen.

"Wow, that was fast," Goh said, surprised.

"Yep, it's instant ramen-only takes 5 minutes to make, two of those minutes boiling water," Sakana explained.

"Hey, can someone help me bring this stuff out?" Akane poked her head out of the kitchen door.

"Sure," Sasame volunteered and followed Akane back into the kitchen.

"Wow, you have a very nice kitchen," Sasame awed at the hugged kitchen. It had light cherry wooden cabinets and black, sparkling granite countertops. The appliances were all stainless steel, and a little island counter stood in the middle of the room.

"Thanks," Akane smiled and walked over to the convection stove.

"Wow, you certainly were busy," Sasame stared at the many pots on the stove.

"Yep. Better to be safe than sorry. I had no idea how much ramen to make, but if those guys are just like Sakana, then I had to get out the big pots," Akane heaved one of the ramen-filled pots over to the dinning room. "Grab one of the pots and follow me. Be careful, They're hot, so grab a towel if you need one."

Sasame did as he was told and followed Akane back into the eating quarters, which had already turned into a disaster area as Sakana, Goh, and the boys helped themselves.

"Hey, guys, relax. There's more where that came from," Akane laughed at the ramen-hungry people stuffing their faces.

Akane took the pot of ramen from Sasame and set it in front of Hayate, Kei, and Yumi, who were staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of them. "Here's your own pot of ramen." Akane took her usual seat across from Yumi, which just happened to be next to Hayate. Sasame took the only extra seat left next to Yumi, who was already digging into the big pot of warm ramen.

Once Yumi came up for air along with her plate of ramen, the other Knights served themselves, much more mannerly than the others.

"What's wrong, Akane? I thought you liked ramen," Yumi asked through a mouthful of food.

"I do," she answered. Several noodles flew across the table and landed on her head. "Just not this much," she scowled and flicked the long, wiggly noodles off her.

"Hey!" Kei yelled. Akane glanced questioningly at her.

She stifled a laugh. "Hehehe, sorry."

Sakana just so happened to have seen what happened and shouted, "Food fight!" The remainder of dinner was pure chaos.

* * *

A/N: Yeah I know I made up some attacks. I really don't care. Anyways, it gives the Pretears and Knights more variety with attacks. No boo boos for anyone! Lol…ok…I'll stop now. By the way, Yumi is my friend Natalie, who is InuYumi on this site.

The ramen thing. Yeah, I don't know really how long it takes to make ramen, since I never timed myself; but I do know that the ramen I buy- Maruchan Ramen- takes only two and a half minutes or so to make once the water's actually boiled. Mmm, ramen. /mouth waters/

I am definitely gonna repost this story. I went back through it, and I noticed a lot of things wrong, like I called Mannen the Leafe Knight of Water. I know perfectly well that he is the Leafe Knight of Ice/Freezing, whatever you want to call it. I'll fix everything later once this story is finished. For now, please review. And if you see anything out of place, tell me!


	8. Attack of the Fearsome Koorime

Hi guys! Sorry this took so long. I was caught up with my other stories. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten about this one!

Responses:

E: lol. I was just trying to make this funny. I know you eat ramen like a normal….person…..yeah. Hehehehe. Anyways, thanks for reviewing!

Inuyumi: ok, I corrected your name. Happy? Lol. Anyways, glad you like this so far. And I am so addicted to "Brand New World". And guess what? IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT! Lol. J/K. Thanks for reviewing!

Disclaimer: …too tired…must sleep…../dreams about owning Pretear/

* * *

Chapter 8

"Hajime, is that the last of them?" Akane asked the Water Knight.

"Yep. Here you go," Hajime heaved the last pot from dinner into the sink where Akane was currently doing the dishes.

"Thanks. Take Mannen and Shin upstairs so you guys can get clean," Akane ordered and the little redhead followed with a grin.

"Need any help?" Sakana asked.

"Nope, almost done," Akane finished cleaning the last pot and set it to dry. With the kitchen in silence, Akane noticed an unusual silence coming from the living room. "Did they drown or something?"

"I think they drowned in food. ST is upstairs, not downstairs," Sakana laughed.

"Wow, I thought they would all be arguing about who one that little fight," Akane laughed.

"Well, let's go see if they are dead yet," Sakana led the way out of the kitchen. What they saw made their jaws drop and they burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" Kei cocked a golden eyebrow.

"You!" the girls were now rolling on the floor laughing and clutching their sides. Indeed the Leafe Knights were a sight to behold. Each of them was sprawled across the room in some awkward position, exhausted from the food fight. Goh was lying upside down on the couch; Kei looked like he was taking a nap; the three young boys (including Hajime, who had fallen asleep with them after helping Akane and Sakana with clean-up) were collapsed on the floor; Hayate and Sasame had a couch to themselves, each plopped on the couch, about ready to fall asleep; Yumi, having no where else to go, was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"You know, we never got our revenge on those guys before," Akane whispered to her sister.

"Hey, you're right. Mom called us before we could finish," Sakana looked at the boys sleeping on the comfy carpet. "Hey, are they asleep?" Sakana asked those who were awake and pointed to the three boys on the floor.

"Why don't you see for yourself," Akane nudged her sister closer. Sakana quietly crept up and kneeled next to Mannen. She poked him all over-his head, his side, and his ticklish spots-and got no response.

Sakana grinned. "Nope, they're out cold."

Akane grinned evilly at the unsuspecting boys as she crept next to her sister. When she saw Hajime and Shin sleeping so peacefully, her face faltered. "Let's leave Hajime and Shin out of this."

"Hajime and Shin? Why?" Sakana asked, astounded.

"Hajime because he helped us with the dishes; Shin because…Shin because he's too cute to get revenge on," Akane explained.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. It was probably Mannen who forced them to play along anyways," Sakana agreed.

"What are you doing?" Hayate's voice rang out, though quietly, making the girls jump.

"God, Hayate, don't scare us like that!" Akane scolded while trying to will her heart to slow.

"Yeah, you almost gave me a heart attack!" Sakana added.

"Whatever. You still haven't answered my question," Hayate pressed.

"Well, if you really want to know, Mr. Nosy, we are finishing our revenge on Mannen for scaring us earlier," Akane replied.

"Good luck with that," Hayate had no faith that the girls could finish their sinister plots for revenge. Akane suppressed a growl and turned back to the person in question.

"We'd better move the other two out of the way," Akane warned.

"Or we could just wake them up so they can watch," Sakana suggested.

"Good idea!" Akane gently shook the sleeping Shin and Hajime. They groggily opened their eyes. Akane awed at the color of they eyes. Shin's were a dazzling emerald green color while Hajime's were a sea green hue.

"Wow, they really go all out with matching to their powers, huh?" Akane awed.

"What's going on?" Shin asked, rubbing his tired eyes.

"We are going to play a trick on Mannen. Wanna help?" Sakana asked. The boys looked at the unsuspecting victim and grinned.

"Ok, first…"Akane explained her diabolical plan to her helpers.

"Wow, you're evil," Hajime grinned.

"Thank you!" Akane bowed slightly. "Now, you guys know what to do, right?" They all nodded their heads. "Ok, then let's begin Operation Melting Snowkid!" All of them rushed off to gather materials. Hayate, Sasame, and Kei exchanged confused glances; Goh still slept upside down on the couch, oblivious to the whole thing.

Five minutes later, The sisters, Hajime, and Shin came back with a basket full of different items.

"Make-up?" Akane called off from a paper.

"Check."

"Hair thingies?"

"Check."

"Hair dye?"

"Check."

"Pink blanket?"

"Check."

"Anything else?"

"Check."

"What?" Akane stared at Hajime.

Hajime held up a pink, flowery, frilly dress. "A dress," he explained.

"That's brilliant, Hajime! Good thinking," Sakana hugged the little boy. "Ah! It burns!" Sakana suddenly jumped back from Hajime, sinking to the floor as if she were melting.

"What? What'd I do?" Hajime asked, concerned for his friend.

"Nothing at all, Hajime. It's the dress that did something," Akane explained. Sakana was still squirming on the floor. "Shut up, you idiot, or you'll wake Mannen up!" Sakana instantly quieted and settled herself next to Mannen on the floor.

"Ok, so now what do we do?" Hajime asked.

"First let's dress him up," Sakana grinned evilly.

"Isn't this bad?" Shin asked innocently.

"Not at all, Shin, because, in this case, we are just giving back what we got in the first place." Sakana explained.

"Mannen played with us, so now we are going to play with him," Akane added. "You don't have to help us if you don't want to. You can just sit back and watch the show!" Akane picked up Shin and placed him on the sofa next to Hayate, who was watching her and the others with interest.

"Just don't coming running to me when you get frozen in place," Hayate warned.

Akane raised an eyebrow at him. "I didn't think about that…," she thought for a minute before an idea came to her. "Hey, Goh!"

Goh yelped and fell off the couch he was laying on, landing on his head with a loud_ thud_. Akane and Sakana burst out laughing, waking everyone else.

"Where's the fire!" Yumi snapped her head back and forth, looking for the "Fire". "Where's the fire?" she asked with a dumb look on her face, causing Akane and Sakana to fall on the floor in an even more hysterical fit of laughter. "What?"

"N-nothing," Sakana managed to get out through giggles.

"What'd you guys wake me up for?" Goh asked, looking very much annoyed.

"Hey, Goh, we are gonna play a little prank on Mannen. Since he's the Knight of Freezing and all, could you do us a favor and make sure he doesn't freeze us?" Akane asked.

Sakana noticed Goh was about to object and added, "Pweese, can you make sure he doesn't freeze me and I end up frozen for the rest of time and won't defrost until the year 4099?" She gave him her best puppy dog face. Everyone sweat dropped.

Goh fidgeted for a moment. "Ok, fine…," he sighed and Sakana hugged him.

"Thank you!"

"Uh…sure," Goh smiled.

"Hey, why didn't you wake me up and tell me you were gonna play a prank?" Yumi asked.

"Uh…because you were asleep?" Akane gave the first excuse that came to her mind. Yumi didn't seem to buy it, but shrugged it off anyway.

"Now, let's begin Operation P.A.B!" Sakana announced.

"P.A.B?" Akane glanced at her questioningly.

"Payback is A Bitch," Sakana said simply.

Akane blinked. "Ok… Anyways, let's start." Hajime, Akane, and Sakana began working tirelessly on Mannen's new look. Hajime dressed him up in the pink, frilly dress, Akane worked on his make-up, and Sakana had the job of dying his hair.

Half an hour later, the three sat back to admire their work. They were fortunate that Mannen had not woken up at all.

"Whew, we're finally finished," Akane gave a sigh of relief.

"Man, this kid could sleep through anything…" Sakana let out a dry whistle. "Hey, I can whistle!" She tried whistling again, only succeeding in filling the room with more carbon dioxide. "Damnit!"

"Hey, at least you know you can do it," Akane laughed and Sakana glared.

"You girls are strange," Hayate commented.

"Thank you!" Akane stood up and gave a quick bow.

"So, how do we wake him up?" Hajime asked.

"I don't know. Why don't we wait until he wakes up?" Akane suggested and walked to the kitchen. "Anyone want some ramen and ice cream?"

Mannen's eyes shot open and he shot up. "Ramen and ice cream? Where!" He scanned the room. "What?"

Everyone was struggling down fits of laughter as they looked at the boy. His hair looked like a bright orange starburst. They left his hairstyle alone since they loved it so much. His face was covered in blush, lipstick, eye shadow, and mascara, all matching the color of his new hairdo. The dress added more flare, giving him a more feminine look. He looked like a little ballerina.

"He looks like a little ballerina!" Akane and Sakana squealed.

"What…?" Mannen looked from each person, only to find them giggling and pointing. He looked down at himself and his eyes dilated. He abruptly stood up and spun around, glaring at his new outfit. "What the hell did you do to me!"

"Oh, nothing. We are just good, honest people who like to give back when they receive gifts, and that's exactly what we did," Akane explained, an innocent look on her face.

"If that's not a lie I don't know what is. Honest people my ass," Hayate muttered.

Akane glared. "You say something?" She was right in his face. Hayate just looked bored.

"You heard what I said. I guess I shouldn't tell you about the blast of ice coming right at you now, then" Akane spun around. Mannen was seething (which was a huge understatement). His face was beet red, whether from anger or embarrassment, no one could tell. He held his hands beside him, a glowing orb of ice forming in between his palms.

Akane gulped. "Help," she squeaked.

"AH, RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" Sakana shot up the stairs, along with Hajime.

"Hey, don't just leave me here! Sakana!" Akane shouted up the stairs. She heard the door slam and cursed under her breath. "Some help she is."

"I won't freeze you if you become my personal servant for a week," Mannen bribed.

"Never!" Akane shouted.

Mannen smirked. "Fine, then freeze!"

Akane started to panic. This guy was serious! "Goh, help!"

"Nope, I only promised Sakana I would help her," he said and walked up the stairs.

"What! You traitor! You Benedict Arnold!" Akane yelled.

Mannen smirked and Akane _eep_-ed. "Blizzard Blast!" A flurry of ice and snow shot towards Akane.

"AH!" Akane jumped and ran across the room, Mannen on her tail.

"Shards of Ice!" he shouted and thrust his hand outward, shooting tiny, razor-sharp icicles at the frightened girl. She jumped and hid behind Hayate, who glared down at her.

"I thought you had a plan?" he smirked.

"It backfired! Now help me!" she cried. Mannen stood in front of Hayate and peeked around him to find a cowering Akane.

"Why should I help you?"

"Because…," Mannen was preparing for another attack. "Please just help me and I won't bother you ever again! I promise!"

Hayate considered this for a moment. "You'd better keep your word," Hayate stood protectively in front of Akane so Mannen didn't have a clear shot.

"Come on, Hayate! Move so I can get her!" Mannen protested.

"You do know she did this because you frightened her in the first place?" Hayate cocked an eyebrow.

"But…but…I didn't do anything mean like this!" he pointed to his make-up and hair.

"Relax, that make-up isn't permanent and you can always change you hair color back," Hayate rolled his eyes.

"But…but!" Mannen whined.

"Yeah, your butt's gonna be in a world of hurt if you don't stop annoying me!" Hayate scolded and Mannen quieted instantly. "Good, now go play with Hajime and Shin or something," Mannen stomped upstairs, mumbling under his breath.

"Thank you, Hayate!" Akane cried and threw her arms around him. The knight, surprised, looked down at her, painful memories of a certain Pretear returning to him. (A/N: and we all know who that certain someone is/wink wink/ Kami, this is turning out to be something like the Inu/Kag/Kikyo triangle in Inuyasha!)

Akane felt Hayate tense and blushed furiously. She glanced up at the confused Knight and immediately pulled away. "Sorry," she mumbled.

"Hn, stupid Pretear," Hayate glared at her and stalked away, hiding the blush that was creeping to his face. The only one to notice, of course, was Sasame, who smiled.

Akane glared at his retreating form. "Oooh, that little…I'm gonna get him for that!"

The grandfather clock chimed twelve times. "Wow, is it that late already?" Akane gasped. "Well, see you guys tomorrow! Good night!" Akane scurried up the stairs and to her room, leaving some confused Knights and a sister behind, who shrugged and followed suit.

"You have some strange sisters," Sasame told Yumi as they walked up the stairs.

"Yep, but you get used to it," Yumi laughed. "So…wait, didn't Sakana say that someone was staying in my room?"

"Yes, I am. Would you like it back?" Sasame offered.

Yumi smiled but shook her head. "Nah, you can have it for now. I'll just go sleep with the two knuckleheads," Yumi bid Sasame goodnight and entered Akane's room. Sasame smiled and entered Yumi's room.

* * *

A/N: I know "Koorime" means ice apparition (or w/e), and Mannen isn't a demon, but I don't care. He acts like it here, doesn't he? Lol. And i also made up some more attacks. Hopeno one minds.Anyways, sorry again that this took a while, but the updates will be a little story since I'm using my Inuyasha story for the school fair (hopefully). Please review! If you do, I'll update this faster! 


	9. Take Your Pretears to Work Day!

Hi everybody! I finally updated this thing! Sorry it took awhile. The chapter title and plot of this chapter kept changing and stuff. Anyways…uh…I forgot what I was going to say…again. Lol. Yeah, I have short-term selective memory loss.

Responses:

**Because of FanFiction's totally awesome new review reply feature, this is going to be the last time I am going to respond to signed reviews in my story. So please, whenever you can, submit a signed review!** And for everyone else, I will be giving short responses because I really don't want to get in trouble and have my story taken off. So yeah.

Sarah: Glad you like my story/gives cookie/ There's your cookie! Lol.

Inuyumi: Glad you liked the last chapter. If you want me to change how you act or something, tell me, ok?

Disclaimer/sniff/ Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. I wish I may, I wish I might, have my wish come true tonight. I WISH I OWNED PRETEAR/looks around/ awww…I don't own it/cries/

* * *

Chapter 9

Akane woke the next morning to the sun shining in her eyes and wrapped up in a cocoon in her silk, blue covers. She rolled over, coming face to back with Yumi, who was crunched up in a little ball. Akane silently giggled and gave her sister some of the covers. Yumi immediately relaxed and turned over in her sleep.

Akane rose from her bed, careful not to disturb Sakana, who slept on the floor that night. When her feet came in contact with the soft carpet, she looked down. It was bare and void of any life.

"Sakana?" she muttered to the air. She received no answer. Akane grew worried and shook her sister. "Yumi? Yumi, get up! Sakana's missing!"

Yumi groaned and rolled over. "Just five more minutes…," Akane growled and gave up trying to wake her sister. She slowly trudged out her bedroom door and shut it behind her. Her sister couldn't have gone far. She knew Sakana didn't sleepwalk…at least not recently. She decided to check the bathrooms. She tiptoed over to her bathroom and slowly opened the door. The dark room and silence inside confirmed her suspicions and she returned to the hall. Where else could Sakana be?

If Akane knew Hayate (which she did), he would probably have his room locked, along with Kei. That left only Goh, Sasame, and the boys' rooms. She decided to check the room closest to her, which happened to be Sakana/Goh's room.

Slowly, she tiptoed across the marble flooring and placed her ear on the door. She could hear loud snoring on the other side and knew Goh was still asleep. She turned the knob ever so carefully, thankful that the maids took such good care of the house, and stuck her head inside the small opening.

Even in the dark room she could make out two forms. Goh was sprawled across the bed. The bed covers were strewn about the room, along with some pillows. His head was titled towards the door, so Akane could see his mouth wide open. She giggled softly before turning her attention to the second form.

Someone or something was curled in a little ball on the floor covered by blankets. The mass slowly rose and fell, as if sleeping. Akane trudged cautiously over to it and kneeled down beside it. Staring, she poked its side and was startled when a hand merged from the covers and tried to slap her hand away. She smiled and chuckled softly and poked it again, receiving the same reaction.

The figure rolled over, revealing Sakana's sleeping form. Grinning evilly, Akane stood next to Goh.

"Goh," she cooed softly. "Wake up." She poked his side and Goh groaned and slowly opened his eyes.

"What time is it?" he asked groggily.

"It's almost time for breakfast. You should get up," Akane said and left the room, "accidentally" forgetting to tell him about his little surprise on the floor.

She crept out of the room. Feeling triumphant, she started downstairs to make breakfast. That is, if a certain tall, dark, and handsome Leafe Knight hadn't been in the way.

Akane almost crashed into Hayate, who was waiting outside the room, a skeptical look in his eyes.

"And just what were you doing?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing. I was just looking for something," Akane gave him her innocent expression. She wasn't exactly lying, but she wasn't about to fess up her evil plan.

Hayate cocked an eyebrow and Akane laughed sheepishly.

"AHHHH!" A scream from inside the room startled them.

"What the hell was that?" Hayate asked, ready to take action.

Akane smiled. "Oh, don't worry. Goh just found his little surprise."

"Surprise?"

"Yeah. That's what I was looking for," Akane explained.

"SAKANA! What the hell are you doing in here?" Goh yelled.

"What?" Sakana's groggy and confused voice answered. A short pause. "What am I doing in my room?"

"I don't know, you tell me!" Goh yelled, frustrated.

"I guess I sleepwalk if I'm not in my room. My floor is very comfy, you know. You should try laying down on it," Sakana said.

"No thanks. I'd rather sleep on something soft."

"But my floor is soft. And comfy! Look!" A soft thud was heard and Akane knew Sakana was on the floor again. A satisfying sigh was heard and the two eavesdropping sweat dropped.

"Your sister is weird," Hayate stated.

"Yep. And I'm related to her," Akane shook her head disapprovingly.

"Hey, I never said you weren't weird. In fact, I think you're even weirder than your sister!" Hayate teased.

"What! I am not weird in any way, shape, or form as stated in the Constitution of the United States of America!"

"…What?"

Akane blinked. "What?"

Hayate sighed. "Nevermind."

"Sakana, get up!" Goh shouted.

"But I'm comfy!" she whined.

"Come on, get up!" Goh commanded.

"No!"

"Yes."

"No!"

"Yes!" Goh was becoming extremely frustrated.

"No!" Sakana shouted back with just as much force.

"Fine, then I'll force you up!"

"Ah, someone help! I'm being sexually harassed!"

Akane and Hayate exchanged glances and barged into the room. Goh had Sakana's arm in a tight grip and was attempting to pull her up off the ground. Just as she suspected, Sakana was only crying wolf and was perfectly safe.

"You!" Goh pointed an accusing finger at Akane. "That's what you were doing in here!"

"What! I found her in here like this!" Akane defended.

"Then how did I get in here, then? Hm?" Sakana accused.

"You sleepwalk. You said so yourself," Akane said simply.

"What? I said no such thing!"

"Yes you did."

"No I didn't!

"Yes, you did."

"Prove it!" Sakana challenged.

"I have two witnesses," Akane pointed to the two Knights.

"Oh… Well, you still have to prove it!"

Akane sighed. "Fine. Hayate, did Sakana say she sleepwalks?"

Hayate glanced from Akane, to Goh, to Sakana, and back to Akane. "Yes."

"Ha! See, you did say you sleepwalk!" Akane cackled.

"Well, what about Goh?" Sakana looked up to Goh. "did I say that I sleepwalk?"

Goh looked around for an excuse not to answer. Finding none, he gulped and muttered, "Yes."

"HA! Even Goh admits you said it!" Akane laughed.

"What! How come you didn't defend me?" Fake tears welled up in her eyes. "You hate me! Wahhh!" Sakana burst out of the room and ran down the hallway.

"Now see what you made me do? She hates me now!" Goh scolded.

"No she doesn't. By the time you get downstairs she'll have forgotten all about this," Akane laughed.

"I hope you're right," Goh sighed and ushered everyone out of the room.

"You know what? I have no doubt in my mind now that you guys are the weirdest Pretears I have ever met," Hayate said.

"Ah, so you admit that we are Pretears now, huh?" Akane smiled.

"What? N-no, I didn't mean that!" Hayate stuttered. "That's probably he closest thing that describes you two."

"Sure…" Akane taunted. "Well, see you downstairs!" Akane waved and skipped down to the kitchen.

Sakana was sitting at the long table waiting for some breakfast. Sasame sat across from her, drinking some coffee.

"Hey, Akane!" Sakana greeted cheerfully. Akane resisted the urge to laugh at her sister's short attention span.

"Hey, Sakana. Good morning, Sasame," Akane walked over to the pantry and brought out a box of cereal. From the cabinet next to her she took out ten bowls. As she began pouring cereal into each of the bowls, she was thankful that her parents always kept a huge supply of food for them.

"Hey, what do you guys want to drink?" she asked.

"Orange juice!" Sakana called out.

"I'll have some milk, if you don't mind," Sasame said calmly.

Akane prepared their bowls of cereal and their drinks and set them down in front of them.

"Do you guys know what the others like to drink?" she asked.

"The boys will probably want some milk. Kei will have his tea, Hayate and Goh will have anything," Sasame told her as she prepared each drink.

"Ok, that takes care of the Leafe Knights, now…what does Yumi like?"

"Chocolate milk, please," Yumi's voice called from the hallway.

"Oh, hey Yumi!" Sakana said cheerfully.

"Why didn't you guys wake me up?" she asked and sat in her seat next to Sasame.

"You were sleeping like a baby, that's why," Akane joked. Sasame chuckled softly and Yumi blushed.

_Ah, so I've got another task as matchmaker!_ Akane thought.

Hayate and Kei appeared in the kitchen all dressed and ready to go.

"Where's the party?" Akane giggled.

"We are not going to a party. We are going to work," Kei explained.

"Hey, guys. What's for breakfast?" Goh appeared at the table so suddenly, making everyone jump in surprise.

"Where did you come from?" Sakana asked, suspicious.

"Uh, I came from upstairs," Goh stared at her strangely.

Sakana shrugged. "Ok," and she returned to eating her cereal.

"So, why are you guys going to work?" Yumi asked.

"We do have to earn a living, you know. We don't just get everything for free," Kei said as he and Hayate sat down to eat their breakfast.

"Where do you guys work?" Akane asked.

"Goh works at a restaurant, Sasame at a radio station, and me as a video game designer," Kei explained.

"What does Hayate do?" Akane asked.

"I don't focus on one job. I get hired to do different jobs for people," Hayate said.

"A volunteer, then?" Akane inferred.

"Yes, sort of like that," Sasame answered.

"Hey, since we have nothing better to do…do you think we could…go to work with you guys?" Sakana asked.

"Go…with us?" Goh repeated.

"Yeah!" the three girls jeered in unison.

"Why should we bring you with us to work?" Hayate asked.

"Because…because if there was a demon larva attack, you wouldn't have to come _all_ the way back here to get us!" Akane smiled triumphantly at he excuse.

"Yeah, and we won't bother you guys all day. We'll switch on and off between guys," Sakana added.

"What about Mannen and the others?" Yumi questioned.

"They can take care of themselves. We could always let them patrol the city. They would have something to do and be proud to take on a "difficult" job!" Akane's grin widened. She was on a roll with solutions today.

"That's an excellent idea, Akane," Sasame complimented.

"Thank you, thank you!" Akane bowed to Sasame.

"So, can we go with you guys?" Sakana asked, eyes hopeful.

"I don't see why not. What do you think, Hayate?" Sasame inquired of the Wind Knight.

"I don't care what they do. Just don't get in our way when we're working," Hayate said.

"Yay, we get to go to work with the Leafe Knights!" Akane squealed with delight and hastily cleared the table, leaving the dirty dishes in the sink.

"So, who are we gonna go with?" Yumi asked as everyone stood. "I think we should each go with one Knight, since the three of us would be way too much trouble."

Akane blinked. "Wow, you are actually giving some helpful advice today, Yumi. Congratulations!" Akane shook her hand violently.

"I wanna go with Goh!" Sakana hopped onto Goh's back. Startled, he quickly hooked his arms around her legs to keep her from falling. "Onward, steed! To the restaurant!"

"So, you aren't mad at me?" Goh asked.

"Mad at you?" Sakana cocked her head. "For what?"

Goh sighed in relief. "Nevermind."

"I wanna go with Sasame!" Yumi claimed.

"And I…uh…" Akane paused. She couldn't decide who she wanted to go with. It was like choosing a date for the prom. You got one guy who you really like and another guy who's got something good; and in this case, Kei works with video games, one of her favorite toys.

"What? You can't choose between a girly guy and a cute guy?" Sakana joked, receiving a glare from Hayate and Kei, making her shudder. "What? I gave you a friggin' compliment!" She said more to Hayate.

"Ah, the genius Akane can't make a decision! Write this down in history books, people!" Yumi gave a fake gasp and laughed.

"Ha ha ha, very funny," Akane mocked.

"Well, I have a meeting to go to, so I can't take you with me to work," Kei lied.

"Ok, so that means you're stuck with me for a few hours!" Akane skipped over to Hayate, who groaned and rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Fine, let's go," Hayate stalked out the door, followed by an ecstatic Akane. Sakana and Yumi blinked, laughed, then followed after her with a confused Goh, an amused Sasame, and an annoyed Kei.

A sudden thought came to Akane's mind. "Hey, what about Mannen and the others?"

"They'll be fine," Hayate reassured her. Akane nodded and continued skipping on ahead.

* * *

A/N: Ok! This chapter is done! Yay! Again, sorry it took a while. Strange as it is, I was writing the last chapter of my Peacemaker Kurogane story. Strange because I haven't even written all the other chapters. Lol. And no, Natalie, you can't read it. /sticks tongue out/ Anyways…I still don't remember what I was gonna say/thinks/ Oh, I remember now! I know you guys are probably thinking "If they are American, then why did they get Japanese names?" Well, don't worry. That question will be answered soon! And also, there is a new feature for authors where instead of wasting space in your summaries for putting "In Progress" or "Completed", fanfiction put that new feature in. To change it, just go to your story thingy like you do to update it and change the summary and stuff.

Now please review peoples! Reviews are my fuel for writing! My inspiration! My reason to live/grabs knife/ If I don't get any, I might just do it! (lol…j/k I am definitely not suicidal. I'm just being dramatic…lol)


	10. I've Been Working on the Railroad!

Hi guys! I am sooooooooooooooooooooooo sorry this is really late, but I have been sooo worked up with homework and school, it's not even funny. Anyways, as a little apology andChristmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa present (screw the political correctness), I'm going to write two chapters to each of my stories—including the ones like _Black and Gold _and _Flying Without Wings_! So yeah, I'll try and get as much done as I can, and this is the first chapter for this story. One more for the present, and I promise updates will come a little quicker.

Anyways, I did it again. I wrote the last three chapters to this story when I haven't even gotten there yet. So, when I catch up with it, I'll post the last three if I get enough reviews and you won't have to wait too long.

Also, E and I are doing a sequel to this story, but she's writing it. It's going to be a YYHxPretear crossover and we've already got the first two chapters (strange, I know).

One more thing, (I promise) E has finally registered with FF! Her sn is I AM E (since "E" was already taken).

Now on with the long-awaited chapter!

Disclaimer: I no own Pretear!

* * *

Chapter 10

A/N: This chapter is gonna be split between Yumi, Akane, and Sakana. When I switch POV's, it doesn't mean that time has passed, ok? And I'm still gonna stick with the third person POV. Just so you know.

--Akane and Hayate--

"So, where exactly are we going?" Akane asked. They had been wandering around the city for who knows how long. Akane hadn't been keeping track; it just seemed like an eternity to her.

One thing did keep her busy for a while, though. Akane had been admiring the scenery around the town. Even after passing along the road a million and one times on the bus to school, she still never got tired of gazing at the vivid color of the numerous flowers. Everything seemed so peaceful to her, she sometimes wondered how evil could exist in the world.

_BONK!_

"Ow!" Akane rubbed her forehead. "Stupid pole," she cursed under her breath.

Hayate looked back and sighed. Shaking his head disapprovingly, he muttered, "Idiot, watch where you're going." Akane looked up from the ground and came face to…hand with Hayate's palm. She stared quizzically at it for a while.

"Well, are you going to take it or stay on the ground like an idiot?" Hayate hissed, annoyed. Akane scoffed and slapped his hand away.

"Well, if you're going to be that much of a jerk, then no thanks," Akane stood up and dusted herself off. Head held high and proud, Akane stalked off down the sidewalk as if nothing so awkward had just happened. Then as if things couldn't get more embarrassing, a large stalagmite rock just happened to be sticking out of the sidewalk, right in Akane's path. (You can probably guess what happened)

"Ahh!" Akane, not seeing the almost-impossible-to-not-notice rock, tripped. She closed her eyes, expecting to hit the concrete sidewalk, which she did…

…almost.

A powerful hand grabbed her arm and kept her from falling. She spun around, almost tripped again over her feet, and came to be staring into Hayate's deep, blue eyes. Hayate narrowed said eyes at her.

"Klutz," he said and let her drop ungracefully on her butt. (lol…I had to spell it like that)

"Ow!" Akane groaned, rubbing her behind. "What was the point of catching me if you were just going to let me go! And did you have to drop me like that?"

"Keep it up and I'll be dropping you at home," Hayate retorted and walked away. Akane scoffed and quickly jumped up, dusting herself off.

"Hello, Mrs. Cleveland," Hayate greeted when they reached a considerably large house. They had walked around the whole town in silence at least twice before the came to stop in a rich development close to Akane's house. Why they hadn't just walked next door was beyond her.

"Oh, hello, Hayate!" The woman who answered the door bell was dressed as if she was just about to leave on a dinner date. She gazed over The Wind Knight's shoulder at the small girl and smiled. "I see you brought a friend with you."

"I had no other choice, and I wouldn't exactly call her a friend," he replied, receiving a glare from said girl.

This only made the woman's smile broaden. "Well, just don't do anything too rash. The children are still here."

Akane blinked and blushed slightly. Why in the world would she think she and Hayate, the "handsome-but-heartless" Knight would be boyfriend and girlfriend? Akane's eyes widened. Did she just think what she thought she thought? (A/N:…ugh…that's confusing) She shook her head of the thoughts, though she knew any girl would totally agree with her.

Mrs. Cleveland drove off in her car, waving goodbye to the two on the porch.

"So, where exactly is she going?" Akane asked.

"It's Sunday, so she's probably off to church. She's in charge of the kid's department, but it's still a formal thing," the Knight answered.

Silence…awkward silence…

"So, what exactly are you supposed to do here?" Akane interrupted the beautiful sound.

"They are moving in a few days, so they hired me to help move boxes."

"Oh joy…" Akane groaned.

--Sakana and Goh--

"Wow, you work at Benihana?" Sakana stared wide-eyed at the Japanese-looking restaurant. Though it was pretty expensive, the food was definitely worth paying the extra money for.

(A/N: I love Benihana's! It's sooo good! I love their fried rice! And soup! And salad! And shrimp! And steak!E:…ok, calm down…It's not the end of the world…unless you're in MG's classroom." MG btw…stands for Mrs. George. Stuck in hell? Life too boring? Then buy some MGO's! It's evil…in a box! Lol…we actually made a little ad for them)

"Yep. I'm a waiter and deliver stuff." Goh led the two into the restaurant. Warm, delicious scents of fried rice, steak, and shrimp filled her nose, making her mouth water.

"Do they have cookies?" she asked.

"Uh…" Goh fiddled for a response she'd like. "There are fortune cookies, if you want."

"Ok! Yay, I get some cookies!" Sakana began to jump up and down in excitement, but was quickly stopped by Goh's hand on her shoulder.

Looking around, she saw several people staring at her, some shaking their heads disapprovingly. (I've been using that word a lot lately…in my stupid FCAT essays, in my stories…) "What? Why'd you stop me?"

"We're in a restaurant. Please act somewhat normal, because I'll lose my job," Goh pleaded.

"Oh, sorry." Sakana smiled and straightened out.

"Goh! Hurry! There are many deliveries to make!" A voice called from the kitchens.

"Coming! Sakana follow me," Goh commanded and led the two into the kitchens.

"Goh, what took you so long? And who is the onna?" a towering, buff male stood over Goh, easily casting a long shadow over the both of them.

"Uh, she's…uh…"

"My name's Sakana Sakamoto. I'm here with my friend Goh because my parents are out of town and no one else is at home," Sakana saved Goh from answering.

The man stared at her skeptically. "Well, fine, but don't make a mess of things."

"Arigatou…uh…"

"Hibiki-san," the man introduced himself.

"Hibiki-san!" Sakana finished her old sentence. Hibiki smiled.

"Well, go on. Thos orders aren't going to deliver themselves, you know," Hibiki ordered with a smile.

"Thank you, Hibiki-san!" Goh bowed and Sakana followed suit. Straightening up, Goh grabbed the first order on the pile and Sakana's arm and headed out the door.

"Hey! You don't have to grab so hard, you know," Sakana jerked her hand free of his grip and proceeded to walk calmly next to Goh. "What's with the rush anyway?"

"N-nothing. That guy just creeps me out sometimes," Goh slowed his pace so Sakana wouldn't have to keep running to keep up. "How do you know Japanese, anyway? I thought you guys were American?"

"We are," Sakana answered.

"Then how come you know Japanese? And you names are Japanese?"

"Oh, well you didn't ask that," Sakana said. Goh sweat dropped.

"Well, can you answer it, then?"

"Yes, I can."

Silence.

"Aren't you going to answer me?"

"You never asked me to answer it," Sakana explained. They came to an intersection and waited for the right moment to cross the street.

"Yes, I did."

"No you didn't. You just asked if I _could_ answer it, and I said I could. I never said I was going to," Sakana said. (A/N: I have always wanted to do this to someone!)

Goh sighed. "Well, then, _will_ you answer my question?"

Sakana stared at him strangely. "What question?"

Goh knocked himself in the head several times, almost knocking himself out if Sakana hadn't stopped him.

"There's empty space in your head," Sakana said and knocked Goh on the head a few times.

"Stop, that hurts!" He swatted her hand away.

"Oh, sorry! Did I give you a boo boo?" Sakana asked in a baby-ish voice and rubbed his head where she hit him.

"Stop, I'm fine," Goh pushed her hand away and laughed uncertainly. He still had a couple of hours to kill before he could go back and have some peace and quiet.

--Yumi and Sasame--

"Wow, you're a radio personality?" Yumi and Sasame arrived at a tall radio tower on the outskirts of her town. They hadn't traveled far, only about eight blocks, and arrived just in time.

"Sasame!" Squeals of voices frightened Yumi, making her jump five feet in the air.

"What the hell!" she shouted, scanning the area for the source of the noise. A pack of girls stood at the bottom of the stairs to the building, all holding flowers, candy, or cards. She stared at the pack of fan girls as if they had grown two heads.

The girls waved and began racing up to them. Yumi hid behind Sasame, who just chuckled.

"Hello, Sasame!" The girls all said at once.

"Hello," Sasame answered calmly with a smile.

"Are you going to record your radio show now?" one asked. Duh, what do you think he's doing here, sightseeing?

"Yes, so I have to go," Sasame answered and walked into the fancy building. Many of the girls sighed dreamily as they watched his retreating form; the others, however, shot daggers at Yumi when they saw her.

"Who are you and what are you doing with our Sasame?" a girl asked. She seemed to be the leader of the pack, since she smelled the strongest and wore the most revealing outfit, not to mention everyone else quieted and stared at Yumi once she spoke. She had long, dark raven curls of hair and dark brown eyes.

"Wow, I wish I could control my sisters like that," Yumi muttered.

"Don't change the subject!" the girl spat.

"Well, it really is none of your business, so don't stick your abnormally large nose where it doesn't belong," Yumi retorted. The girl's minions gasped and prepared to fight a girl's fight, waiting for a command from their leader. All Yumi could think was, _God, I'm hungry._

"I wouldn't be talking, you whore. Leave our Sasame alone. He belongs to me and _only_ me!" the girl hissed in her face, spraying her with spit.

Yumi growled. "How can you call me a whore when you don't even know me? And I don't see your name anywhere on him or a piece of paper saying he belongs to you so shut the hell up and go back to your mall!" Yumi countered and raced inside before those girls could tackle her.

"Yumi, are you alright?" Sasame appeared in a doorway. Yumi leaned against the wall, panting slightly.

"Yeah, except for the fact that I now have a whole horde of fan girls after my head, I'm perfectly fine," Yumi joked.

"Alright then. Don't worry about them. Come on, let me show you around," Sasame motioned for her to follow him.

Yumi was led into a double room. One side had comfortable couches and bunches of recording equipment; the other side was separated by a wall with a glass window. It had a radio mike and scripts on a single table in the small space.

"Good morning, Sasame!" one man greeted.

"Good morning! Are there any postcards for me to read?" Sasame asked.

"Yeah, hold on," the man disappeared through a door. Yumi and Sasame waited patiently in their spots. Yumi began to sing the "Jeopardy" song, earning stares from several people around them. Sasame chuckled slightly and a blush crept to her cheeks.

"Here you go, Sasame," the man reappeared, making Yumi jump.

"God, don't scare me like that!" she scolded from behind Sasame. He chuckled and the guy looked at her strangely.

"Sorry," he apologized and handed Sasame a script of postcards. Sasame scanned through the book and stopped at a certain one, eyes widening.

"What is it, Sasame?" Yumi asked and looked over his shoulder. "'Hello, Sasame. I don't know if you would remember, but when my mother lived in Japan, she always used to send requests to your radio show there. She died recently and left everything to me, and I just happened to come across those cards. I enclosed them here.'" Yumi finished reading the card. "You guys used to live in Japan?"

"Yes, that's where Himeno was," Sasame replied.

"Then who sent this postcard with the postcards?" Yumi asked. (Isn't that a bit confusing?)

"Yes," Sasame pointed to the signature at the bottom of the letter.

"How can you tell anything from that?"

Sasame's voice was quiet and sympathetic. "Her mother signed her postcards as "Miss Silk"."

--Many hours later when everyone gets back home--

Yumi and Sasame were the first to reach home. Seeing no lights through the windows, Yumi sighed and took out her key to the mansion and unlocked the door. They would've been home a couple hours earlier if Yumi hadn't insisted on a tour of the radio tower and a walk around the town.

"Where the hell is everyone?" she asked as she opened the door. The darkness inside welcomed the two. Yumi cautiously stepped inside and made sure to look both ways before advancing any further into the dark room. Sasame chuckled as he shut the door behind him.

"I don't sense anyone else here; you can relax now," Sasame joked. Yumi turned to glare at him, which only made his smile broaden.

A suddenly rapping came at the door. Yumi screamed and immediately hid behind an amused Sasame, who knew exactly who was on the other side of the door.

"Did you have to ride on my back?" a familiar voice asked.

"Yep! Now, onward steed! Into the house!" a voice answered the first. Yumi's eyes twitched. She got scared over them?

The door opened, revealing Goh's tired and aching form with an ecstatic Sakana on his back.

Sakana's face dropped when she saw Yumi and Sasame. "Aw, we're not the first one's here!"

"Well, we would've been if you weren't riding on my back," Goh muttered.

"Nice to see you, too, Sakana," Yumi pouted and came from behind Sasame.

"What's your problem?" Sakana cocked an eyebrow.

"You guys scared her when you tried to open the door," Sasame answered for the girl.

"Sasame!" Yumi blushed furiously and ran upstairs. Sasame laughed.

"Hey, are Akane and Hayate here? Goh asked.

"No, not yet."

"They better not do anything that I wouldn't do," Sakana smirked.

"And what wouldn't you do?" Goh asked.

"Jump off the Empire State Building and dive 15,000 feet into the ocean where I would lock myself in a soundproof room with earmuffs," Sakana answered. Goh sweat dropped.

Suddenly Sasame perked up. A knock came at the door followed by a small groan.

"Well, I guess we all know who that is," Goh laughed and opened the door. Who he expected to be there was in fact _not_ the person at the door.

"What the hell were _you_ three?" he cocked an angry eyebrow.

"Well, you see," Mannen started up an excuse, "We were really bored and we didn't know where you guys went; so we went to the park."

"You could have sent someone to tell us where you guys were. We thought you would've been at home by now!" Goh scolded.

"Hey, sorry! We were hungry!" Mannen defended and adjusted Shin's wait on his back.

"And just how in the world did you get food?" Kei asked as he came up to the door.

"ACK! Don't scare us like that!" Hajime and Mannen shouted, waking up the little bundle on his back.

"W-what time is it?" Shin asked groggily.

"It's 8 o'clock, Shin. Did you have fun at the park?" Sakana asked, taking him from Mannen's back, which the Knight of Freezing was grateful for.

"Yeah!" he gave Sakana a toothy grin.

"Come on, we'll go upstairs and play some video games!" Sakana suggested, which Shin agreed to enthusiastically. Mannen and Hajime started to follow, but were stopped by Goh and Kei.

"And just where do you think _you're_ going, hm?" Goh smirked. Mannen and Hajime laughed nervously and shifted their feet. Seeing no way out of this, they sighed and proceeded to explain and apologize to the older Knights and beg for their lives.

Once they had finished their story (which Goh and Kei took as acceptable), a knock came at the door, followed by a groan and loud curse.

"This time we know who this is," Goh said as Kei answered the door.

Hayate stood at the door with a sleeping Akane riding on his back, looking annoyed as ever.

"What happened to her?" Kei asked and let Hayate in. Hayate dropped her on the couch, and even then she didn't wake up, but shifted to a more comfortable position.

"Man, she sleeps like a rock," Goh pointed out.

"No kidding. She was so wiped out she almost collapsed as we were walking home. And she's so heavy!" Hayate rubbed his sore back. "where's everyone else?"

"Sakana's upstairs with Shin and Yumi and Mannen and Hajime are…hey, where did those two punks go!" Goh and Kei looked around the room for the two Knights but found they were no where in sight.

"Shit, I knew we should've strapped them down," Goh cursed.

"Well, I'll go upstairs and looked for them Goh, you make some dinner or something; Akane and Sakana are going to be starving when they wake up or come down," Kei ordered and walked up the stairs.

"Why am I always stuck cooking everything!" Goh whined.

"Maybe because you're the one who works at a restaurant?" Hayate pointed out.

"Oh yeah…that sucks," Goh sighed and trudged into the kitchen.

Hayate, finding nothing else to do, decided to watch some TV and keep an eye on Akane for a while.

* * *

A/N: Ok, this chapter done! Yay! Again, sorry this took awhile. Anyways, E's story (which is on my account), _A Stone and A Fish_, is going to be moved to Inuyumi's account. E doesn't want to write it anymore, so Yumi's gonna finish it (very doubtful…lol…j/k, nat!) 

Now please feed me your wonderful reviews! Me want food! (lol) BTW, for anyone who's wondering, Sakana and Akane will be fighting another demon larva in the next chapter! They aren't dead!


	11. Having Fun at the Park!

Hey guys! I'm back! Lol. Anyways, sorry this took a while to get out. E wanted me to work on my YYH story _Titans in the Tournament_, so I have been working on that and my Inuyasha story. Anyways, so here this is!

Also, check out my profile for some summaries of stories I am going to write soon and a summary of Angel Tales/Tenshi no Shippou! It's a really cute anime. And really funny! Lol.

Responses:

Sakimi: …You really are weird, you know that? I said I was going to put some more action in this chapter, so relax already! And this isn't a drama story…nope, definitely not. It has me and E in it, how would it be dramatic? (It won't be till the end of the story, actually…you'll see soon enough…I hope)

BTW, we all know each other (we go to the same school), so don't get any ideas that I'm being mean to random people I don't know.

Also, I have a little question. Does anyone think I'm moving too fast right now? I mean with the HayateXAkane stuff? I think I might be, just a little bit. I don't think I should've put that last line in chapter ten:

_Hayate, finding nothing else to do, decided to watch some TV and keep an eye on Akane for a while._

Yeah, I think that sped things up too much. But don't forget—it only took Hayate what…3 or 4 episodes to like Himeno? You know, when he starts smiling and stuff on her roof that night when she finally can do the kendama thing.

Disclaimer: If I did own this thing, then MY name would be on the cover of the Pretear manga. MY name would be in the credits of the Pretear anime.

* * *

Chapter 11

Akane woke up the next morning to a soft sheet and she bolted up. How the hell did she end up in bed? The last thing she remembered was walking home from that job with Hayate. Wait, Hayate? She blushed furiously at her thoughts and shook her head. Nah, he hates her; he wouldn't do anything like that.

"Sakana!"

"NO! Don't hurt him!" Akane heard her sister plead. She smirked and quietly got out of bed to peek through her bedroom door.

Sakana was balling; she was kneeled on the floor, practically crying if Akane didn't know her sister better. She looked up to find Goh still in his pj's, clutching her sister's sacred plushie. Akane snickered, then immediately covered her mouth.

Sakana's head spun around to the source of the small sound. She spotted Akane peeking out of her bedroom door and crawled swiftly over to her.

"Please save him, Akane! Don't let the mean, nasty pyromaniac hurt him!" Sakana begged, pulling on Akane's silky pajamas.

"Stop, Sakana! You're going to ruin my favorite pj's!" Akane cried as she tried to pry her sister off her.

"Pleeeaaase, save Mr. Banana! Save my uncle!" Sakana cried, almost in tears.

Akane stared at her sister incredulously. "Why does he have him in the first place?"

"She scared me half to death when she tried to get him from my room!" Goh answered.

"Hey, it's _my_ room, pyro! I can do whatever I want in _my_ room!" Sakana retorted.

"Well, for a month it's _MY_ room!" Goh shouted back.

"Well—"

"STOP IT!" Akane yelled. Sakana and Goh blinked at her sudden outburst.

"What the hell is going on?" Hayate peeked his head out of his bedroom door. When he spotted all of them, he growled. "Would you children take it downstairs or something? I _was_ trying to get some sleep!" With that, Hayate slammed the door shut. Everyone in the hallway just stared at the door, not making a sound.

Awkward silence.

"Dang, another gay person is born," Sakana muttered.

"What?" Goh blinked.

"Whenever there is an awkward silence, another gay person is born," Sakana said matter-of-factly.

"Ok…"

Another awkward silence.

Sakana took advantage of the situation and stealthily crept over to Goh and snatched Mr. Banana out of his hand.

"Ha! I win!" Sakana shouted triumphantly and rushed back over to her previous spot. "It's ok, Mr. Banana; he's not going to be a cannibal and eat you," she cooed while stroking it. Goh sweat dropped while Akane just sighed, used to her sister's antics.

"Cannibal?" Goh blinked.

"Long story…" Akane said. "Come on, I'm starving," She proceeded downstairs to the kitchen and the other two soon followed.

* * *

A/N: Yeah, it is a long story. E and I created this thing in Spanish called the ANF (All-Natural Flavors). We were really bored and the class is boring and easy, so yeah. And we got a lot of free time…anyways, the ANF was composed of everyone in our Spanish class and a lot more people we knew, and basically we gave them fruit names. E was the banana, so that's where this comes from. I was a watermelon, I think.

* * *

"I want ramen!" Sakana shouted gleefully as she jumped in her seat.

"Why in the world do you want ramen?" Goh blinked.

"And for breakfast," Akane added.

"Because…because Mr. Banana wants ramen!" Sakana grinned. Her sister sighed.

"Hey, what's for breakfast?" Mannen, Hajime, Shin, and Yumi asked groggily as they sat down in a random chair.

"Ramen!" Sakana answered cheerfully.

"Ramen? Why are we having ramen for breakfast?" Yumi asked.

"Ask Sakana."

"Ok, I don't think I want to know why, then," Yumi said.

"Akane, Mr. Banana wants his ramen with bread. And don't forget he doesn't like it too hot. It burns his tongue. Oh, and don't forget he likes a little bit of lemon juice in it. Oh and—"

"Sakana!" Akane yelled in frustration.

"What?" she asked innocently.

"This isn't Burger King where you can have it your way! If you want all those things, then make the ramen yourself," Akane sat down in her seat.

"But…but…I'm not the one who wants it. Mr. Banana does."

"Whatever. You're his niece or whatever, you make it for him."

Sakana was on the verge of tears. "But…but…but…"

"My God, Sakana! It's not rocket science! Just boil some water, put the ramen in, let it cook for a little, then pour it in a bowl!" Akane shouted.

"WHY IS EVERYONE SHOUTING?" Hayate yelled from the doorway. Everyone stared at him. An amused Sasame chuckled softly behind him.

"You're contradicting yourself," Akane pointed out. He glared at her, which she returned with just as much force.

"How am I doing that when I'm _asking_ a question?" Hayate cocked an eyebrow.

"You wanted everyone to stop shouting before, and you were louder than all of us," Akane said simply. Hayate sweat dropped.

"Hey, guys, look at this!" Sakana cried suddenly. She was staring at an ad in the newspaper.

"What?" Akane and Yumi asked in unison.

"Let's go to Rapids!" she squealed and threw the ad in their hands.

"'New and improved Wave Pool with bigger waves and more wetness. Also come see our new Mini beach. Now you can swim in the ocean without the worry of sharks and jellyfish!'" Akane read aloud.

"I don't believe a word of it," Yumi said.

"What?" Sakana stopped suddenly and stared at her sister with wide eyes.

"Something can't be both "new" and "improved". If it's new, then there's never been anything like it before; if it's improved, then something like it existed before and they just added things to it," she explained.

"She makes perfect sense," Sasame agreed.

"For once," Akane added under her breath.

"Whatever. Still, I wanna go to Rapids!" Sakana cried.

"Yeah, us too!" the young Leafe Knights chorused.

"We don't have time to play games," Hayate said, "Not when demon larva could be anywhere around the city."

"But what about Kei's program? He can tell us if there's a demon larva going to attack somewhere!" Mannen argued.

"Speaking of the pretty boy, where is he?" Sakana interjected.

"He went to work already," Goh answered.

"Ah, so you admit he's a pretty boy!" Sakana pointed an accusing finger at the Knight of Fire.

"No, it's just…it's just I happened to know who you were talking about!" Goh stammered.

"Sure, that's what they all say."

"Ok, now that that's settled, onward to Rapids!" Akane declared.

"Yeah!" all the children, teenagers, and Goh shouted in agreement and ran up the stairs to get ready. Hayate growled.

"Come on, Hayate. They need to enjoy their life as much as they can. Don't ruin it for them," Sasame said and went upstairs to get ready as well.

"We're ready!" Sakana, Yumi, and Akane announced at the bottom of the stairs. Almost everyone else was waiting for them in their bathing suits—that is, everyone was dressed for some wetness except for Hayate. He was still in his regular clothes.

"Hey, I thought you guys were getting your bathing suits on?" Goh pointed out.

"We did," Akane said.

"We're wearing them underneath our clothes, dummy," Sakana said.

"Let's go," Hayate grimaced.

Suddenly Sakana hopped into Goh's back, but this time Goh was ready.

"Onward steed! To Rapids!" Sakana shouted, pointing out the door.

"Do you _have_ to ride on my back? It still hurts from yesterday, you know," Goh complained.

"Yep! Now let's go! High Ho, Silver!" Sakana waved an invisible whip in the air. Goh sighed as everyone sweat dropped.

-----

The Leafe Knights and the sisters all made it to Rapids Water Park in one piece (though they had a feeling a part of them was about to exit onto the asphalt below them).

"Remind me to never let you drive again," Akane said as she exited the mini van. Using the car for support, she kneeled over and closed her eyes, waiting for the dizziness to pass. She'd never gotten _this_ motion sick before—not even on her dad's boat. She could hear Sakana and Yumi coughing and hacking and the sound of splattering liquid.

"Hey, I'd like to see _you_ do better!" Yumi challenged.

"Hey, even _I _know where to stop at an intersection. You drive like Mario and Luigi!" Sakana said, still slightly queasy.

"Yeah," came the faint agreements from all the other people.

"So, is everyone still up for Rapids?" Goh asked.

"Yeah!" Mannen, Hajime, Shin, Akane, and Sakana jeered. Sasame nodded; Hayate was still sore about the whole thing; and Yumi was still sulking from the insult to her driving.

"Wow…" everyone awed (save for Hayate). Everything was so different since the last time Akane and Sakana had been there. The flooring was different (now a pattern of small square tiles); the kiddie playground was remodeled, now much bigger and nicer—it looked more like a kiddie playground now!

"Where should we put our stuff?" Yumi asked. Sakana looked around; she couldn't find a spot with enough chairs for all of them!

"There aren't enough chairs anywhere for all of us," Mannen said.

"Great. What do we do now?" Kei asked. Sakana thought for a moment…and of course got distracted by the playful fun of water guns on the water playground.

"Water fight!" she shouted and rushed over to the spray gun, pushing a boy about her age out of the way.

"Hey, what are you doing! I was there first!" he protested. Sakana stared at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just wanted to play with the nice water gun," she said innocently.

"No, I was here first! Girls aren't supposed to play with these. Go away!" the boy stood and began advancing on her. Sakana glared daggers at the foolish kid.

"_Everyone_ can play with this, and we have to take turns. If you don't agree, then you shall face the wrath of bendy straws and monkeys who are bent on ruling the world," she said and hissed. The boy, now totally freaked out at her sudden change in demeanor, started backing away…slowly.

"N-no, nevermind. You can have it," he said and ran. Sakana smirked triumphantly and turned her attention back to her original task.

"Sakana!" Akane cried. Sakana stared at her. "What are you doing? What about finding some chairs for us?"

Sakana blinked. "What chairs?" Akane sighed and shook her head disapprovingly.

Suddenly a powerful blast of water knocked Akane in her head and she fell backwards into Hayate. Luckily for him, Akane was facing the other way, so she didn't see his eyes widened slightly. (A/N: Can anyone guess what he's remembering?)

"Ow," Akane groaned and rubbed her head. Growling, she got up and rushed under Sakana. "You idiot, what the hell was that for!"

"You seemed like such good bait…I couldn't resist," Sakana grinned.

Akane narrowed her eyes. "Just help us get some chairs!"

"Ok, ok…sheesh…" Sakana muttered under her breath and hopped down.

"Let's see…2…4…6…8…9…Yep, we've got enough chairs!" Akane grinned to herself.

"Now we can go play!" Sakana cheered.

"Yeah!" the younger Knights agreed and they all raced off to the wave pool.

"You guys coming?" Akane asked the other Knights.

"Yep!" Yumi answered.

"Yeah," Goh said as he took off his towel and raced after Sakana and the others.

"What about you two?" Yumi inquired of Sasame and Hayate.

"No thanks; I'll just stay here," Sasame refused politely.

"Oh no you don't. You have to come with us and have some fun, Sasame! Please?" Yumi pulled on his sleeve and administered her puppy dog eyes expression. Though not as lethal as Sakana's, it seemed to get the job done as the Knight of Sound sighed and gave in. "Yay!" Yumi cheered. Sasame removed his shirt and pants to reveal some swim trunks (A/N:…someone get a bucket and a mop over here…this is disgusting…yuck, drool). As soon as he was ready Yumi dragged him off.

"And what about you?" Akane approached Hayate.

"Don't even try. I'm not going," he said and turned away.

"Suit yourself, then. You'll be bored to death," Akane said and joined her friends and sisters.

"Let's play sharks and minnows!" Sakana suggested randomly as another wave crashed down on them.

"What's that?" Hajime asked.

"It's a game you play in the water," Yumi explained.

"So, how do you play?" Shin asked.

"Well, you know how sharks love to eat little fish?" Akane asked. They nodded.

"We're the sharks; you guys are the minnows," Sakana explained. The Knights gulped (though Sasame, of course, was very interested and amused) and Sakana grinned evilly.

"We'll give you a head start starting…now!" Akane shouted and the Knights scrambled.

"Aren't you going to play, Sasame?" Yumi asked.

"No, thanks. I like watching you guys play," he said. (A/N: Kami, Sasame reminds me so much of Kurama…sorry, random thought)

"Ok, but it's your own fault if you aren't having fun," Yumi said and swam after the nearest Knights, who happened to be Hajime and Shin.

"Sakana, you go after Goh; I'll take Mannen," Akane ordered and both girls grinned evilly. Scanning the water, Sakana spotted Goh trying to hide himself the corner. Slowly, she sunk beneath the surface of the water and, just like a shark, swam stealthily to her unsuspecting victim all the while singing the _Jaws_ theme song. Akane silently giggled and looked around for the Knight of Ice. She found him on the opposite side of the pool trying to blend in with other people. She giggled again. It was a little hard to blend in with a crowd when your spiky, ice-blue hair sticks out like a sore thumb.

Akane followed her sister's approach and sunk beneath the surface to stalk her prey. Just when she was halfway across the pool, her stomach clenched and she quickly rose to the surface. She felt like this only once before and looked for the other Leafe Knights. All had stopped playing and were gazing worriedly at the water, especially Hajime, being the Knight of Water.

"Akane, what's going on? Why'd everyone stop playing?" Yumi asked.

Akane spun around quickly to look at her older sister. "Yumi, you have to get out of the water. Now!" Akane forced her out.

"What? Guys, what's going on? Sasame?" Yumi stared at Sasame, who had the same worried look on her face.

"Demon larva!" Hayate explained, already clothed in his Knight outfit.

"Demon larva?" Yumi blinked. Before everyone's eyes people began to faint, inside the water and out. A ripple of water began at the center of the pool, then growing as the demon larva rose to the surface. The jellyfish-like creature shot its tentacles out and latched onto surrounding trees, immediately sucking them dry of Leafe. Branches collapsed as they browned and died. Shin began to cry as he gazed with horror at the withering trees.

"Guys, what's going…on?" Yumi fainted as the demon larva began sucking Leafe from the ground.

"Yumi!" Sakana shouted.

"Shin, we need the containment field! If you put it up now, we can save the trees!" Akane coaxed. The Knight of Plants sniffed and nodded. Cupping his hands around his amber amulet, he focused his Leafe.

"Beyondios!" he shouted and snake-like vines shot from the center, trapping the demon larva, Pretears, and Knights in the field.

"Goh, come on!" Sakana shouted to the Fire Knight, holding out her hand.

"No, Sakana! Fire won't work on water, dummy!" Akane cried.

"Oh, oops," Sakana laughed sheepishly. "Mannen, let's prêt! We can freeze the ugly thing!" Mannen grinned and took her outstretched hand for a few seconds the two disappeared in a blinding, pale blue light. When it faded, Sakana stood in a ballerina-like outfit that looked like it was made for winter.

"What is with you guys and ballerina outfits!" Sakana yelled.

Akane would've laughed if the situation was different. Instead she looked around for a Knight. She would've gone with Kei since the heat from his light would probably be most effective. Water against water wouldn't be smart, and Mannen was already with Sakana. _Wind or sound_, Akane thought to herself.

"Hey, Sasame!" she called out to the Sound Knight. He nodded and they hooked hands, immediately disappearing into a blinding flash of white light. As Sasame merged with her body, she could hear the sounds of many different things assault her ears. With light disappeared, and Akane stood in her spot in the Sound Pretear's outfit.

"Akane, watch it!" Sakana yelled. Akane looked up too late. A jelly tentacle shot towards her, smacking her squarely in the face. Though, since Sasame had pretted with her, he received the attack instead.

"Sasame, you ok?" she asked.

_Yes, I'm fine. Hurry, you must find the core!_ He urged. Akane nodded and scanned the demon's body.

"Akane, I found it!" Sakana cried and pointed to the creature's back tentacle. She nodded and both Pretears raced towards the core. Just as they came close, a giant tentacle slapped them away and they flew 20 feet.

"Ow," they groaned.

"Hey, you guys ok?" Hajime called from above them. Instead of an answer, both girls stood, growling.

"What do we do? We can't get close to that thing!" Sakana asked, frustrated. Akane thought for a moment.

_Why don't you freeze it first?_ Sasame suggested.

Akane perked up. "Great idea! Why didn't I think of that in the first place…. Sakana, I've got it!" Sakana rushed over.

"What?"

"Why don't you freeze that jellyfish first? Then we can get to the core without it attacking!" Akane said.

"…Why didn't I think of that? In fact…Mannen, why didn't _you_ think of that? You're the Knight of Ice!" Sakana scolded the young Knight.

"Sakana, you can yell at him _after_ we kill this thing. Come on!" Akane yelled. The Ice Pretear nodded and closed her eyes, focusing her Leafe.

"Hhhyyaaahhh!" she cut the air with her arm, sending a wave of Ice Leafe towards the demon larva. It successfully froze over, the ice twinkling in the light.

"Hurry! That ice won't hold forever, slowpoke!" Hayate taunted.

"Slowpoke? Why you little—" Akane was about to forget the fact that everyone was about to die because of the demon larva and go after Hayate until Sasame spoke up.

_Akane, don't worry about him. You have to get the demon larva first!_ Sasame successfully brought her back to the current dilemma.

"Oh, sorry," Akane flew to the tentacle as fast as she could, stopping right in front of the frozen noodly appendage. (A/N: lol...the Flying Spaghetti Monster…don't ask…)

_Now relax_, Sasame soothing voice rang in her head. Akane took a deep breath and exhaled, relaxing all her muscles. _Sense the Leafe of Sound_, he then ordered. Akane could definitely sense it, and was thankful she wasn't screwing up or being yelled at, like a certain _someone_ she knew.

_Now fire the Sonic Arrow!_ Sasame urged. Akane put two fingers to her mouth and blew hard. A wave of Sound Leafe attacked the demon larva's core. It cracked and exploded, along with the creature's body, and all the Leafe it had collected was returned toits owner.

"Yeah, we did it!" Sakana cheered. The battlefield disappeared in a blinding flash of light, and everyone reappeared in the now restored park.

"Yay, we did it!" Sakana cheered. The others smiled and cheered along with her. Sakana spotted Goh and grinned evilly. Akane watched in amusement as she crept behind him.

"What are you smiling at" Hayate asked.

"Oh, nothing," and her grin widened. Five…four…three…two…one…

"Victory Ride!" she shouted and jumped onto his back. Goh, being the naïve and slow learner he is, was caught by surprise and fell into the wave pool, Sakana clinging to his back. You would've thought he'd learned by now of Sakana's habits.

Everyone burst out laughing as Goh resurfaced, his brown and red hair thoroughly soaked and clinging to his face.

"Good thing I brought my camera!" Akane grinned and took out said object from her backpack. "Say bendy straws!"

"Bendy straws! Where! Get them away from me!" Sakana's eyes widened to inhuman proportions and she began thrashing about on Goh's back. Akane pressed the little black button on the camera.

"What a Kodak moment!" she was grinning from ear to ear.

* * *

A/N: Hey, guess what? I just read the Pretear manga! There were soooo many differences from the anime! Like Kei looks nothing like he does, and Sasame has BLONDE hair! (Though I think he looks really cute in the manga…./grins/) And Hayate's hair is tied up farther! Looks just wrong! And the events are a little different too! And Takako (when she was young) looks just like Mikage! Sasame wasn't in love with her, either! And when Himeno meets the Leafe Knights is totally different! Shin is the first one to prêt with her, but she doesn't remember! Hayate doesn't give her the kendama(sp?) test or any others either! I could go on and on here…Otherwise, the story is basically the same. I like the anime much better though.

Also, I love going to Rapids! (though I haven't been there in ages…) They haven't put a mini beach in (from what I know); I just had to give them a reason to go…And I know I suck at fight scenes…If anyone wants to be my beta when it comes to things like that, speak up! Speak up for the land of the Free! For the home of the brave! (lol…sry…from Legally Blonde 2)

BTW, is it just me, or am I losing my touch with the funny randomness? I think I am, but I don't know. I'm trying to keep it in here…

Now please review! And sorry this was a little late, too. And for the long authoress' note.


	12. It's The End of the World as We Know It

Hey guys! I'm really sorry that this is really late, but I'm restricted from the computer now because my math grade is slipping (I hate geometry) and I spend too much time on the computer anyways. Also I had the rest of the FCAT to deal with (math and reading...I spenta total of 80 valuable minutes doing nothing because I finished early).So updates will be slower, but I won't stop writing, k?

Thank you everyone who reviewed last chapter!

Dragonfrye: ROFL, yeah Sasame and Kurama are so alike, and Hayate and Hiei (to a point). And don't worry, you aren't the only insane one here. But we don't suffer from insanity! We enjoy every minute of it! LOL

Disclaimer: Ok, this is the very last one I am going to put up because really, if I owned _anything_, would I be here writing fanfics? Also, I'm tired of writing these things…if anyone objects, speak now or forever hold your pieces. (lol, sorry, had to do that)

The title of this chapter is named after the song by R.E.M. I love that song! .

* * *

Chapter 12

The few weeks of winter break had passed by almost uneventfully (almost because Goh almost broke his back courtesy of Sakana). Akane and Sakana were, once again, bored out of their minds, even with the Leafe Knights with them. The last few days were upon them, and the girls were complaining that they didn't get enough of a winter break and didn't want to go back to school a.k.a. hell.

"What kind of winter break is this, anyways?" Sakana complained. "It doesn't even _snow_ here!"

"Why don't you want to go back? All week you guys were complaining how bored you were! Yumi went back already," Goh pointed out to her.

"I think it's that time of the month," Mannen muttered to Hajime, who giggled softly. Fortunately for them, Sakana was paying no attention to them and instead was more focused on complaining to Goh and convincing him to let them stay home.

"It won't matter really, Sakana. Mom and Dad just called. They said they would be home in an hour once they get their bags and stuff from the airport," Akane said as she appeared at the foot of the stairs.

"WHAT!" Sakana's eyes dilated. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"…because they just called, dummy," Akane said.

"Hehehe, oh yeah. I knew that," Sakana laughed sheepishly.

"Sure you did," Akane muttered.

"But all the Knights are still here! What are we supposed to tell Mom and Dad?"

"We packed up last night, Sakana," Goh explained. Sakana gazed up at him, teary-eyed.

"WAAAHHHH! I don't want you guys to go!" Sakana whined, pulling on Goh's shirt.

"Sakana, relax. It's not as though they live in California. They live three blocks down the road!" Akane pulled on her sister's shirt, but she didn't budge. "Come on, Sakana! Let go of him!"

"No! I don't want him to go!" She cried and gripped his shirt tighter.

"Sakana," Goh murmured softly, "I'll give you a special cookie if you let go. You can always visit us when ever you want."

"Cookie! Where, where!" Sakana's head shot back and forth around the room for the cookie. She crawled all over Goh, going through his pockets and jacket for her cookie. "Where is it?"

"You'll get it once you get off him," Akane said. Sakana looked at Goh. She was perched on top of his shoulder like a bird. It was a wonder he didn't tip over from the unusual weight, even if it was only a hundred pounds. Laughing sheepishly, Sakana hopped off his shoulder and began to dust him off.

"I'm so sorry, my lord! I'll get you clean up in a jiffy," Sakana said. Goh stared down at her.

"Well, this is certainly something you don't see everyday," he said.

"What's all this racket?" Kei asked irritably as he came down the stairs. When he spotted Sakana trying to dust off Goh and Akane trying to pull her sister off him, he blinked. "I don't think I want to know."

"Ah, forget it!" Akane called in defeat and released the younger Pretear, who fell on top of Goh from the force. Just as this was all happening, Hayate and the others came down the stairs, bags in hand.

"What the hell?" Hayate was just as confused as Kei.

"She did this!" Sakana immediately accused, pointing a finger at Akane.

"What do you mean, "I did this"? You're the one who went balling in the first place and turned into a bird trying to find a stupid cookie!" Akane countered.

"It's not a stupid cookie!" Sakana yelled.

"Whatever! You are the one that started it!" Akane yelled back with just as much force.

"I WANT MY COOKIE!" Sakana screeched, causing everyone to cover their ears.

"Here, Sakana," Goh said, pulling out a cookie from his pocket with one hand.

"Ooo, thank you!" Sakana took the cookie and hugged the Knight of Fire. Just as she was about to take a bite out of it, she paused to examine it. It was a chocolate cookie with chocolate cream in the middle. A chocolate lover's cookie sandwich.

Without warning Sakana threw the cookie at Akane.

"Hey, what was that for!"

"I don't want it," Sakana said simply and folded her arms over her chest.

Akane fumed. "And why not?"

"It's an Oreo. I don't like Oreos." Akane sweat dropped.

"But it's a cookie!" Goh said. How in the world could a cookie lover like Sakana not like Oreos, the most popular cookies?

"I don't care. I don't want it," Sakana pouted and turned away.

An awkward silence filled the room. This girl was too complicated.

"We'd better get going before your parents get back," Sasame broke the silence. Akane nodded.

-----

Thirty minutes later, Akane and Sakana had helped the Knights move back into their apartment. Mannen, Hajime, and Shin were reluctant to unpack because they couldn't play all their favorite videogames that Akane and Sakana had.

"Hey, you guys can borrow some games whenever you want, 'k?" Sakana offered.

"Yay!" The three young Knights cheered.

Once all the unpacking was finished, everyone gathered in their living room/dining room.

"Come on, let's wait at our house. Mom and Dad might have bought some pockey!" Sakana suggested.

"You get pockey in Japan, you idiot," Akane corrected.

"Yeah, but don't they usually go there and get us something before they leave?" Sakana pointed out. Akane sighed.

"POCKEY!" Sakana and the young Knights jeered and rushed out the door. The remaining people just stared after them.

"I feel so bad for you," Goh sympathized.

"She's not the only one who gets like that though," Akane admitted and smiled.

"Mom! Dad!" Sakana cried as she and the Knights with her burst through the door. When no one answered, Sakana walked in and began to sniff the air.

"Where are they?" Hajime asked.

"I don't know," Sakana answered. Her nose led her into the kitchen. Loud noises and crashes could be heard as she sniffed about. Five minutes of searching, and she burst through the door, crying. "THERE'S NO POCKEY!"

"What's going on?" Akane asked as she and the other Knights arrived at the door. Upon seeing her sister, Sakana crawled over and latched onto her leg.

"Akane! There's no pockey!"

"Sakana, Mom and Dad probably aren't home yet. It's only been 45 minutes," Akane pointed out. Sakana sniffed and calmed down slightly.

"Let's sit down and wait for them to come home," Sasame suggested. Sakana nodded. You could always count on Sasame.

Fifteen minutes passed, and Sakana began to grow impatient.

"Where are they!" She cried.

"Relax, Sakana. They are probably stuck in traffic or something," Goh told her. Sakana pouted, but decided to wait a little longer.

An hour later, they still weren't home. Sakana's leg was jittery, the only thing keeping her from spazing out. Mannen, Hajime, and Shin had gone upstairs to play games.

Finally she broke. "It's been an hour!" she shouted.

"They are pretty late. I'd better call them," Akane said and walked into the kitchen.

"What could be keeping them?" Goh asked.

"They would have called, don't you think?" Kei added.

"I'm not sure, but I'm sure they are alright. Their luggage might have gotten lost in baggage claim," Sasame reassured them.

"I want some pockey," Sakana sniffed.

"Guys," Akane came out of the kitchen, a frightened expression on her face. "They didn't answer."

"What happened?" Sakana asked. "Do you think something happened to them?"

"I don't know," Akane muttered.

"Should we go to the airport?" Goh asked.

Hayate nodded. "We can't leave them here alone. Someone get Mannen and the others."

"I'll get them and meet you guys there," Sasame volunteered.

"Let's go," Hayate said and led the others outside.

Not even ten minutes of walking, Akane and Sakana stopped abruptly as a feeling of nausea overcame them.

"Demon larva," Hayate said.

"You girls sense it?" Kei asked. They nodded in response.

"Let's go, we have to hurry!" Hayate ordered and they raced after the aura.

"The airport!" Akane gasped. This was the same airport their mom and dad were supposed to arrive at. Everyone had collapsed on the floor.

"The demon larva must be nearby," Hayate said.

"Someone help!" A stranger cried. Akane and Sakana rushed over.

"What happened?" Akane asked the stranger.

"Look!" he muttered his voice hoarse. He pointed above on the building's roof. A turtle-like creature stood on top, clutching two figures.

"Mom! Dad!" The girls cried. The familiar figures of their mom and dad lay motionless in the creature's arms.

"Damn, and Shin isn't here! We need the containment field!" Kei said.

"Hahahaha," An eerie voice cackled from a distance. Everyone froze, paralyzed in their spots.

"W-who's there?" Sakana asked.

"It's about time your girls showed up." The voice answered.

"Kaguya," Hayate growled.

"Kaguya?" The Pretears asked in unison.

"The Princess of Disaster," Goh explained.

* * *

A/N: I'm really sorry this chapter was short. I cut it off here because I thought it was a good cliffy and I wanted to get it out for you guys!

Come on! You gotta review! Pweese?

Side note 1: For those of you who have seen _Howl's Moving Castle_, IT WAS SOOOO AWESOME! Hauru is soooo cool /squeals! (Hauru is Howl, just his Japanese name, which I prefer much better)

Side note 2: I'm gonna be gone April 6-April 9. I'm going on a band trip to Atlanta to compete in a festival thingy called Fiesta Val. So I won't be able to write then, obviously. I'll try and bring some stories with me, but I can't make any guarantees.


	13. Celestial Blade

Hey guys! I was able to post before my band trip! Yay! I'm sorry this took a while. I had this done for a couple of days and I was working on the next chapter (which is almost done) because I had it already planned out in my head, but I never finished it. Hehehe. Anyways, sorry! School got in the way…evil school.

Guess what? I found a new theme song for me! It's a song called _Harvey the Hamster_ and it's by Weird Al, so I don't own it! You can either search for the lyrics or you can probably find it on the internet or on iTunes, where I found it because I spent 2 hours being bored. Lol.

Oh, Harvey, Harvey  
Harvey the Wonder Hamster  
He doesn't bite and he doesn't squeal  
He just runs around on his hamster wheel  
Harvey, Harvey  
Harvey the Wonder Hamster  
Hey, Harvey!

Please no one take it! It's my theme song!

* * *

Last time on _The American Pretears:  
_"_W-who's there?" Sakana asked.  
_"_It's about time your girls showed up." The voice answered.  
_"_Kaguya," Hayate growled.  
_"_Kaguya?" The Pretears asked in unison.  
_"_The Princess of Disaster," Goh explained._

* * *

Chapter 13

"What!" The Pretears gasped.

"How clever you are, Leafe Knights," the voice called out. A violet miasma began collecting around the demon larva with their parents, soon solidifying into a human form.

"What did you do to our parents?" Sakana shouted.

"Oh, all I did was suck a little of their Leafe," Kaguya said simply and smiled. "You'd best be grateful that I didn't take any more, or you wouldn't be a family anymore."

"W-what?" Akane's voice shook. Her legs felt like jelly and she wasn't sure how much longer she could hold herself up.

"Now, if you want to keep them alive, why don't you give me some of _your_ Leafe?" Kaguya pointed and a large tentacle shot from the demon larva towards the girls. Too shocked to move, both girls remained paralyzed where they were.

"Sakana! Akane!" The Knights shouted.

_We're not going to make it in time!_ Hayate thought as he transformed into his Knight outfit and rushed to help them. Just as the appendage was about to grab them, a blizzard of icicles froze it in its tracks.

"Mannen!" Akane sighed in relief.

"Hajime, Shin, Sasame!" Sakana added. The remaining Leafe Knights arrived just in time to save their butts.

"We can't leave you guys alone for a few minutes, can we?" Mannen smirked. Akane would have spat her own remark back, but was too grateful to even care at the moment.

"Thanks, Mannen," she smiled.

Kaguya growled. "You meddling kids, you will not stand in my way!"

"Sakana, come on!" Goh shouted and held out his hand. Sakana quickly took it and both disappeared in a flash of red light. Moments later, Sakana stood in her spot as the Fire Pretear.

"Hayate!" Akane called out to the closest Knight. Hayate nodded and they hooked hands. Disappearing in a flash of blue light, Akane closed her eyes as she felt the Wind Leafe and Hayate's spirit fuse with her own. The light dispersed, and now both Pretears were ready for battle.

"Shin, hurry!" Kei urged.

The small Knight nodded and cupped his hands around the amber amulet on his neck. "Beyondios!"

Snake-like vines erupted from the core, attempting to form the battlefield dimension between the worlds. Shots of dark violet electricity danced across the green tentacles. They squirmed and retreated back from whence they came.

"What?" Shin gasped. His spell hadn't worked!

"What happened?" Akane asked.

Kaguya cackled.

"What did you do, Kaguya?" Kei demanded.

"I had to keep you busy while I honed my abilities enough to counteract your little Pretear," Kaguya said, still hidden. "But I see there is more than one Pretear. How…bothersome."

"Why don't you come out and face us, you coward!" Sakana taunted.

"There is no need for me to; you see, even my new breed of demon larva can put an end to you," the voice said.

Hayate growled. _Hurry up and attack._

"What?" Akane asked, baffled.

_Just hurry up!_ He ordered. Akane glared at him.

_So all of a sudden you are going to leave your senses behind and doing something Sakana would do?_

Silence answered her, and Akane smiled.

"Wind Sword" Akane shouted and formed her sword of Leafe.

"Fire Axe!" Sakana followed, her fiery ax held tightly in her hands.

The girls glanced at each other, nodded, and charged together towards the demon larva. Akane swung her sword at an oncoming tentacle. The sliced appendage was cut in two and fell to the ground.

"Is that really all you've got?" Akane mocked.

Angered, the demon larva wriggled its damaged tentacle around. It split in two along the jagged edges, and then healing slightly. The newly formed parts twisted towards her, wrapping around her waist. Akane gasped and struggled to free herself, but the demon's grip was too strong.

_Ahh!_ Hayate's cry boomed in her mind.

_Hayate?_ Akane called. It was then she noticed the nearly transparent, light blue barrier surrounding her body. _Hayate, let it go! I can take this ugly thing!_ Still, the stubborn Knight of Wind did not budge.

"Akane!" Sakana cried. She rushed over, fireball in hand. She tossed it at the demon's tentacle. The demon larva screeched and withdrew its grip.

"Thanks, Sakana," Akane said. _Hayate, you ok?_

_Yeah, I'm fine. Hurry up and defeat that thing! We have to find Kaguya,_ Hayate ordered.

"I can't find a core!" Sakana exclaimed.

"What?" Akane took to the sky for a better look. She scanned the demon's body for any trace of a heart. Finding none, she returned to the ground.

"How do we fight something that doesn't have a heart?" Sakana asked.

"Just as your Pretear has evolved, my minions have also evolved over the course of time," Kaguya explained.

"What do we do now? Shin can't create his barrier, and it doesn't have a core!" Mannen said.

"I don't know, but we have to do something quick, or this city will be destroyed," Sasame warned.

"It has to have some sort of heart," Akane said.

"But you said yourselves that it doesn't have a core," Hajime said.

"Yeah, but every living thing has something that keeps it alive. Maybe this demon larva's heart is just hidden somewhere else."

_You may be right,_ Hayate agreed.

"So why don't we split up?" Sakana suggested. "Some of us go after Kaguya, the rest stay here and take care of this…_thing_."

"It goes against my standards, but it's the best plan we've got," Kei said.

"Ok, Me, Akane, and Sasame will go after Kaguya," Sakana said matter-of-factly.

"No, one of you needs to stay here. A demon larva can only be defeated by a Pretear," Sasame said.

"I'll go, then," Akane volunteered.

"What? But I wanna go!" Sakana whined.

"Hey, you can probably defeat that thing with the luck you have; so when you do, come and meet us, ok?" Akane said.

Sakana pouted, but nodded. "But Sasame gets to stay here!"

"Fine. Mannen, Kei, come on!" Akane took to the sky and flew over the towering and collapsing buildings.

"Where exactly _is_ Kaguya, anyway?" Mannen asked.

Akane stopped in her tracks. "Hehehe, I haven't got a single clue."

_Oh, that's smart,_ Hayate grumbled in the back of her mind. Couldn't argue with him there.

Akane tried searching the air for any sign of depleting Leafe. Besides the battle not too far away, there were no other signs of evil anywhere. Her stomach churned, anxious. If she didn't do something quick, Sakana and the others might be fighting endlessly.

"Does anyone have any idea where she'd be?" Akane asked aloud.

"If you don't know, how should _we_ know?" Mannen asked.

Again another punch to the esteem.

"We can't just stay here. We're sitting ducks for Kaguya," Kei warned.

Akane couldn't think. Her brain was trying to do too many things at once, she couldn't calm down and concentrate. She debated to herself whether to go back to Sakana and the other Knights; but then if she did that, she might be leaving the chance to catch Kaguya, and it would be her fault for second-guessing her own ideas.

A sudden nausea gripped her stomach and she doubled over in mid-air.

"Akane?" Kei and Mannen said.

It was a different feeling of doom that overcame her then. It was similar to what she felt when she sensed a demon larva, but at the same time, it wasn't. It felt more evil, yet more heavenly. It was strange and difficult to decipher, Akane didn't know what to do.

"Do any of you feel that?" Akane asked.

"Feel what?" Kei asked.

_What is it?_ Hayate asked.

The strange feeling grew, and Akane had the sudden urge to go to the nearby planetary museum.

"I think there's something in the museum," Akane said and took off towards the building. She ignored the cries to wait from the other two Knights. Instead, all her attention was focused on going to the museum.

_Where are you going?_ Hayate asked, but received no response. _Akane?_

Akane's eyes squinted in concentration. Spotting the familiar satellite globe at the top of the building, she glided down, ignoring the stares from passerby.

_Idiot, a huge crowd just saw you land!_ Hayate scolded. Once again, Akane ignored him, and Hayate was growing thoroughly annoyed. _Where the hell are you going?_

Akane pushed through the large crowd of people and into the museum doors. Through the chatter of voices Akane's ears rung with a peculiar melody.

"Akane!" Mannen cried out, waving a gloved hand in front of her face. She had dazed out, hypnotized by the beautiful sounds she heard. She shook her head to try and focus herself, albeit reluctantly, and blinked.

"You were spacing out," Kei explained.

"I heard some sort of melody in my head," Akane said. Kei's expression turned to one of surprise and fear as he listened to the Pretear.

"A melody?" Mannen asked innocently.

"Hurry, you have to follow whatever led you here, and don't listen to that tune you heard," Kei warned.

Before Akane could ask why, the strange feeling returned, this time more prevailing than the last. She suddenly had the urge to visit the mythological artifacts room. Akane guessed that some force was putting these ideas in her head, but she had no other choice than to follow it, which she did.

The room she ended up in was dimmed. The items in the room glowed with a heavenly light. Whether they were glowing on their own or from spotlights, Akane couldn't tell, but she guessed it was the latter.

The Wind Pretear gazed around the room, examining with great interest at the many displays lining the walls. She was particularly interested in looking into a silky, pale pink fabric. Tiny glittering specks shot rainbows over the walls. They shone so bright in the dimly lit room, Akane wondered if the item really was magical. (A/N: Anyone guess what it is and where I got it from?)

_Quit wasting time! The Princess of Disaster must want something in here,_ Hayate said.

_Ok, ok. Just keep your pants on,_ Akane retorted. She returned to scanning the walls. Her sight stopped abruptly at a long sword in a glass case. It was glowing with a pale gold radiance, yet the hilt and scabbard were a mixture of midnight blues, silver, and black. The light around it shimmered in waves. Akane slowly approached it, drawn by its beauty.

"Akane?" Kei said. He followed her gaze to the sword and gasped. "Hayate, do you see what that is!"

Hayate's eyes widened in terror. _Akane, don't touch it!_

Her hand paused, hovering centimeters above the sword's hilt. The strange aura surrounding the blade sparked around her hand, calling it. Akane shook her head to rid herself of the trance-like feeling and backed away slightly.

"Well, well, it seems you have found it, the Celestial Blade," a voice cackled from the shadows. Akane froze. One by one, the tourists sank to the floor, collapsing as their Leafe was sucked almost dry.

* * *

A/N: Isn't that a great cliffy? LOL. Anyways, I hope the next chapter will be done before next Thursday before I go to Atlanta. So just bare with me, k?

/ponders to self/…I know I had something to say…I just forgot (again) what it was…

Anyways, please review! And tell me if you can guess where I made some references to other anime. (Natalie, E, and Sakimi, don't answer…I know you guys know, if you noticed)


	14. Battle with the Princess

Hey guys! I'm so sorry this took so long! But I had a project to do that I thought was due the day I get back to school, then my friends told me that it wasn't due that day, so I screamed. And I also had the band trip (which was so much fun! We got Grand Champions again, meaning that in the festival we competed in, our school got first place overall in the middle school division! We continued the tradition! .) Anyways, sorry for the long wait!

And some people got the reference to Inuyasha in the last chapter! I put the Celestial Robe from the Second Inu movie in there. Surprisingly, Sakimi didn't get it, and she's the Inu-obsessed person of our group…Also I sorta copied Kaguya from that movie and put her in here, but things are a little different.

Thank you everyone who reviewed! .

* * *

Last time on _The American Pretears:_

_Hayate's eyes widened in terror. _Akane, don't touch it!

_Her hand paused, hovering centimeters above the sword's hilt. The strange aura surrounding the blade sparked around her hand, calling it. Akane shook her head to rid herself of the trance-like feeling and backed away slightly._

"_Well, well, it seems you have found it, the Celestial Blade," a voice cackled from the shadows. Akane froze. One by one, the tourists sank to the floor, collapsing as their Leafe was sucked almost dry._

* * *

Chapter 14

"Well, this certainly is a pleasure," Kaguya began, "that the Celestial Blade would reveal itself to you."

A tall figure stepped from the shadows. A woman with long, flowing, raven black hair slowly appeared. The shadows on her features deepened in the dim light, enhancing her venomous appearance. She bore a long, crimson cloak lined with silver on her back. A golden band held back her bangs, allowing deep silver eyes to penetrate the darkness around her. Had it not been for the dark situation, Akane could have easily mistaken her for royalty.

Akane was visibly shaking, no matter how hard she tried to resist. Her throat had gone dry, and she could hear her heart pounding in her ears. "What do you mean, 'reveal itself to me?'"

Kaguya advanced slowly with an air of elegance that Akane did not expect from her. Her cloak billowed behind her in a non-existent breeze.

"That particular sword is one that chooses its beholder, only allowing those with a pure heart and strong spirit to see its aura, and thus hold it," Kaguya explained. "So, in order to find it, someone who fit that description had to be near. Otherwise, the sword would appear as an old, battered blade to all others. But I must say, things are going rather smoother than I had anticipated."

"Wait, so you were here this whole time? Then who was…"

"It is impossible for someone to be in two places at once, you silly girl," Kaguya scolded. "I followed you here."

"How? How come I didn't sense you? And what made you think I was coming here, anyway?"

"You certainly are an annoyingly inquisitive little girl, aren't you?" She smirked. "You'd be amazed at the trail of Leafe a Knight and a Pretear leave behind. It was such a great invitation and the urge was tempting," Kaguya smiled wickedly.

When she saw Akane's shocked and fearful expression, her smirked widened even more. "Even though I may not be able to see the Blade, I can still hear its call. I knew exactly where you were headed and why.

"Now, with you here, the Celestial blade will have no choice but to submit to my powers, and, Leafe Knights, with the power of this one sword, your little Pretears are no match for me!" Kaguya walked forward. As she brushed by Akane, she sent shivers up the Pretear's spine, leaving her frozen stiff.

As the Princess reached out to grasp the hilt, a wave of light just breezed by her fingers. She craned her neck around to glance at the Knight of Light. His hands were held in front of him, prepared for another attack.

"Don't you dare touch that sword, Kaguya!" Kei threatened.

Kaguya smirked and straighten up. "Do you think a lone Knight like you can stop me? Even with a pathetic Pretear and that other brat, you power is nothing in comparison to mine!"

"I won't let you touch that sword, Kaguya," Kei growled dangerously. "If you want it that badly, you'll have to go through me first."

For once in her life, Akane was frightened of Kei. He didn't seem like the egotistical, calm knight that he usually was.

"Well, then, it seems I have no other choice than to humor your foolish desires." Kaguya advanced on the Knight of Light with slow steps. Kei didn't sway in the slightest, but instead prepared to fire an attack at the woman.

"Take this!" Kei cried and fired a wave of light Leafe at the Princess. Kaguya held her hand out and stopped the attack effortlessly, the sparkling light dancing before her. With a small flick of her wrist, she threw the energy behind her, destroying some of the glass cases, showering them in glass.

"What?" Kei muttered. "She deflected my attack so easily…"

"Now do you see my power is far superior to yours?" Kaguya stepped from the debris. Kei stood protectively in front of Akane and Mannen.

"Both of you run and get the others!" Kei ordered, not removing his sight from Kaguya.

"Are you nuts? We aren't just going to leave you here!" Both Knight and Pretear chorused.

"You will not stand in my way!" Kaguya raised the sword and brought it across on Kei's side, flinging him against the wall. The Knight of Light groaned in pain and fell unconscious as he slid down the wall, glass surrounding him.

Mannen watched in horror, gazing back and forth between Akane, Kei, and Kaguya. When Kaguya began to advance, the Knight of Freezing yelped and hid behind a wall next to Kei.

Kaguya smirked and continued advancing. The blade began to glow a faint gold as it had before.

Akane's breathing went ragged. She was the only one left standing. Visibly she was shaking from head to toe. But she knew she couldn't just stand there. She had to find a way to get Mannen and Kei out of there.

"If you think you can escape from here, you shall be in for a rather rude awakening, my dear," Kaguya smirked.

Akane gazed the blade. Its glow was growing stronger as Kaguya neared; the need to take the blade from her was growing ever stronger. The only thing keeping her from doing so was Hayate's warning. It took al her self-control to fight that urge.

"Back when this world was young, the first Pretear had used this same sword to seal me away deep within the realm of Leafeania." Kaguya paused barely two feet from Akane. The Pretear's heart was beating so rapidly, she was positive that the Princess of Disaster could hear.

"By now, the other Pretear and remaining Knights must have realized that their enemy is nothing more than an empty shell now. But it will be too late by the time they realize where you are."

Akane's eyes widened. "Sakana…" At least she knew Sakana was safe for now; but if she came here, then she would be in danger.

"Now you will experience the great pain I felt being locked up for all those millennia!" Kaguya brought the blade down.

"SAKANA!" Akane shouted. So this was how it was going to end? That she couldn't even cut it as a Pretear and hold her own against the Princess of Disaster? She had let the Leafe Knights down, and now she was going to pay for it. She shut her eyes tightly, prepared for the end.

"Akane!" Mannen cried.

_Aagh!_ Hayate cry echoed loudly in her mind.

Akane opened an eye and blinked. She was surrounded by the familiar pale blue barrier. Kaguya's sword attempted to slice through it, their powers crackling.

"Hayate, stop! Let down the barrier!" Akane ordered.

_Hell…no…_

Kaguya applied more force to the blade, determined to break through.

"Hayate, you'll die!" Akane shouted. Still the Wind Knight did not budge, but instead attempted to strengthen the protective wall. Kaguya, in turn, applied more force to the blade.

The tip of the sword poked through the barrier and Hayate let out an ear-piercing scream. Kaguya took advantage of his moment of weakness and plunged the sword father inward with all her might. She slashed at it and it shattered. Akane felt searing hot fire rip across her stomach as she crashed into the wall behind her.

Akane began to glow a magnificent white. Just as quickly as it had begun, the light dissipated, and Akane was back in her old clothes once again, though they were now tattered and bloody. Hayate lay next to her, looking more gruesome than her, struggling to stay conscious.

"Akane! Hayate!" The young Knight of Freezing shouted. He rushed to their side. "Guys, are you alright?"

"Move out of the way, little boy," Kaguya ordered in a dangerous voice.

Mannen, though shaking slightly, stood protectively in front of the fallen Pretear and Knight.

"No," he answered defiantly.

"Mannen…run…" Hayate muttered.

"What!" Mannen asked, surprised.

"You're…no match…for her…"

Mannen turned away. "No way, Hayate. You guys have saved my butt more times than I can count. I'm not going to run away!"

Kaguya frowned at him. "It seems you do not know your place. Even if you are a Leafe Knight, your power is nothing compared to mine!" Kaguya whacked the young boy on his side, sending him flying across the room. He crashed into the wall, bringing some of it down with him. He groaned in pain as he lay there, unconscious next to Kei.

Kaguya smirked. There was nothing more to stand in her way of destroying the Pretear and Hayate, the Leafe Knight of the Wind. She mustered as much dark energy as she could and transferred it to the blade in her hands. Its power radiated an ominous indigo light.

Akane tried to move, but her body was too exhausted to even crank her head upwards more. She had used up too much energy flying here and trying to resist the sword, not to mention her injuries. She glanced over at Hayate. He was in much worse shape than she was. She could tell it took all of his strength just to stay awake.

_I'm sorry…Hayate…I couldn't do it,_ Akane thought, not having the energy to speak.

"A…ka…ne…" Hayate muttered through clenched teeth. Clutching his side, he attempted to scoot over to her. Blood sifted through his fingers, dripping on the museum floor. He carefully positioned himself over her body, ignoring his own pain. She was almost completely hidden under him save for her hands and hair.

"Well, if you both want to die, you are just making this easier for me," Kaguya said.

"Hayate?" Akane whispered. Hayate had already fallen unconscious. She was trapped now under his weight. She wouldn't be able to move them in time to escape Kaguya's attack.

"Die," Kaguya growled in a sinister voice and swung her sword…

…but it never made contact.

Kaguya's sword halted inches from Hayate's back. Her aura was now fighting the sword in a brilliant show of black and gold. The pureness of the blade's power seemed to be overpowering Kaguya as the smell of burning flesh filled Akane's nostrils.

"What is this? The sword is reacting to another soul? But…this is strange…the souls are separate, yet they seem somehow connected…" Kaguya mused aloud. "It must be that second Pretear." Kaguya turned sharply towards Akane, glaring down at her. "You are lucky to escape with your life this time, little Pretear; you will not be so lucky the next time we meet."

Kaguya disappeared in a flash of deep violet miasma.

Akane, relieved that everyone was safe, finally succumbed to her body's will and fainted into unconsciousness; Hayate still sprawled on top of her.

* * *

A/N: O.O OMG…I got this finished! . Well, just to let you guys know, I've been doing a lot of foreshadowing throughout this story. I made it as clear as I could in this chapter without giving it away. No one knows what's gonna happen except for me, not even E! .

I'm going to finish this story first since I have a feeling it is going to be done soon…maybe somewhere in the 20's (chapter-wise). So, give me reviews! Pweese? I promise things won't be so gloomy for a little while…hopefully…

Next chapter will be called "Reunion with a Dark Past".


	15. The Inevitable Question

…I'm not even going to bother with the reasons why this thing is so unreasonably late. All I'll say is this: I'M SOOOO SORRY! I would have updated earlier today, but I had a clarinet sectional today. For those of you who aren't in marching band, a sectional is just when all the people who play a certain instrument (in my case the clarinet) get together and practice.

But just as a little heads up, this story might remain this way, meaning I might not update for a while, but I'll try every 3 weeks, so I have two weeks to update two other stories. But again, I can't make any promises.

_

* * *

Last time on The American Pretears:_

"_What is this? The sword is reacting to another soul? But…this is strange…the souls are separate, yet they seem somehow connected…" Kaguya mused aloud. "It must be that second Pretear." Kaguya turned sharply towards Akane, glaring down at her. "You are lucky to escape with your life this time, little Pretear; you will not be so lucky the next time we meet."_

_Kaguya disappeared in a flash of deep violet miasma. _

_Akane, relieved that everyone was safe, finally succumbed to her body's will and fainted into unconsciousness; Hayate still sprawled on top of her._

* * *

Chapter 15

"Is she up now?" Mannen asked Goh.

Goh growled. "For the hundredth time, no! Now stop asking me every five minutes, damnit."

Mannen pouted and crossed his arms over his chest. He turned away to sulk in a corner, muttering obscenities under his breath. He stopped when he spotted a certain figure in his corner and his face softened. She hadn't moved from that spot for the past few days. She refused to eat anything, not even when offered a cookie or some pockey her parents had brought from Japan. Goh had tried to coax her to eat with a piggy-back ride, even. She just stared continually at a spot on the wall, unmoving with a blank stare.

Nobody blamed her, though.

However, there was one person in the room who even refused to sleep. The Leafe Knight of Wind was jittery with anxiety and worry. Every few minutes he would wander to a different location in the house, refusing to keep still. Currently he was sitting on the couch, his leg bouncing up and down on the floor, making the only sound in the room.

Yumi, Hajime, and Shin returned from playing outside. They saw no one had moved since they had left an hour ago, and they resumed their spots next to Mannen on the floor.

The young Knight of Plants awkwardly voiced what was on everyone's mind. "I hope Akane gets better soon."

Upon hearing her sister's name, Sakana shifted slightly. She glanced up at the party in the room, noticing them for the first time in days. She scanned the room. When she didn't find who she was looking for, a loud sob escaped her lips.

Startled by the sudden noise, everyone glanced at the Pretear. She was now openly sobbing, a single tear trailing down her cheek, the first sign of life anyone had seen in her for the past few days.

"AKANE!" Sakana yelled at the top of her lungs, releasing pent up anxiety. "Why? Why!" Sakana thrashed about in frustration and anger. She fell to the floor, pounding the carpet as if it had been the one who had wronged her.

"Sakana, honey, please," Mrs. Himura helped her daughter from the floor, placing a comforting arm around her daughter. Sakana, though grateful for the gesture, was not in the least reassured. She wouldn't be until she saw her sister chasing her down the hallway for waking her up so early in the morning.

"Yeah, don't worry, Sakana. You act like she's already de-" Mannen was quickly silenced by Goh's hand on his mouth. The Knight of Fire glared down at the short Knight.

"Shut up, you idiot," Goh warned. Mannen, though slightly angry at Goh, looked away, silent.

The silence was once again disturbed by the telephone ringing in the kitchen.

Mrs. Himura sighed. "I'm sorry. I'll have to go into work. Akane won't get enough rest if the phone keeps ringing constantly like this." Mrs. Himura rose from her chair and walked up the stairs to ready herself for work.

"I just don't understand," Yumi said. She thought back to everything Sakana had told her. She clenched her fists, visibly shaking with anger and intense worry. Sasame put a comforting arm around her shoulders, which Yumi gladly accepted and began to cry even louder in his white shirt.

Mrs. Himura reappeared on the stairs, dressed formally and ready for work. With one last glance at everyone, she bid them farewell and left for work in her car.

Hayate moved from the couch, beginning to pace once again. It had become somewhat of a routine for him the past few days. He stopped in front of a cabinet which held many family pictures. Hayate glanced at one in particular. Akane, Sakana, and Yumi were all smiling, seated on some chairs on a rather large sport fishing boat. Sakana held two fingers up behind Akane's head. Yumi was doing the same to Sakana. Akane was standing behind then, leaning her elbows on top of their heads, holding her head in her hands and grinning stupidly.

Hayate suddenly swelled with rage and punched the wall next to the cabinet of pictures with a loud cry. Everyone stared at him, startled and horrified. The Knight of Wind's fists were clenched so tightly to the point where they would have broken skin. He began to shake violently, his anger swelling rapidly like a balloon inside him.

"Hayate…?" Mannen said hesitantly.

Hayate suddenly fell to the floor, gripping the soft carpet. Though his wounds had already completely healed, his body still ached and felt weak. He hated feeling so helpless, especially when someone else was in much worse shape than him and he could do nothing to help.

"I hope Akane wakes up soon," Hajime said, glancing at Hayate uncertainly.

Sasame perked up suddenly and looked over at the staircase. Small footsteps resonated off the marble, though only audible to the Knight of Sound. He gasped when he saw the figure dragging herself down the stairs, looking thoroughly annoyed and sleepy.

"What the hell's going on here? Can't anyone get some sleep around here?" Akane spat groggily at everyone, rubbing her tired eyes. When she noticed everyone staring at her in shock, she blinked and looked herself over in a mirror. Finding nothing, she turned back to them and asked, "What?"

For a few moments, everyone just stared at the now-awake Pretear in utter amazement. Akane began to grow uncomfortable under their gaze and started retreating back upstairs to her bed.

"Well, if no one is going to say anything, I'm going back to be—AHHH!" Akane was suddenly tackled to the floor.

"AKANE!" Sakana shrieked into her sister's clothes.

"AKANE!" Three more cries followed Sakana's, and before she knew it, Akane felt three more added weights on top of her.

"You know…it would be a huge help if I could _breathe_!" Akane gagged under the pressure. "Could you guys please get off me?"

Reluctantly, the four friends removed themselves from her, allowing her to breathe once again.

"Akane…you're awake. Are you sure you are feeling alright?"" Sasame asked, looking at the elder Pretear with utter amazement and concern.

"Yeah, why shouldn't I be? I sometimes sleep late," Akane explained.

"She doesn't remember," Kei said.

"Remember what?" Akane asked.

Everyone exchanged glances with each other. Akane looked at them all with a confused expression, wondering just what they were talking about.

"Akane, do you remember where we were a couple of days ago?" Goh asked.

Akane blinked. "A couple of days ago? Um…here, I guess. Oh, that's right! Mom and Dad should be coming home today!"

The expressions on everyone's faces turned to deep concern and sympathy for the young Pretear.

"You don't remember anything? You know, we went to the airport and you two fought Kaguya," Hajime tried to bring back memories.

"Kaguya? Who's that?" Akane asked innocently.

"She did something to her," Sasame said with an expression of utmost seriousness.

The lone figure in the corner tried to make a stealthy exit, but was caught by a certain blonde girl.

"Hayate, where are you going?"

The Knight of Wind stopped just before the door to her house. He did not turn around, nor did he give an answer. Angry tears burned in his eyes, threatening to fall and show just how hurt he was. With clenched fists, Hayate quickly rushed out the door, slamming it shut behind him and leaving a confused Pretear behind.

"Hayate?" Akane muttered. What did she do wrong?

-----

Akane woke the next morning, her head throbbing. She felt as if she had been thrown clear through the window and across a crowded street where she was trampled on, then thrown into a nearby dumpster. Well, maybe not so graphic, but her head did hurt like hell. She tried knocking her head, but that only succeeded in giving her more of a headache. Smart, Akane, she thought.

She attempted to get out of bed, ignoring the continuous throbbing in the back of her skull. A sharp wave of pain shot up her spine and she immediately fell back down. Well, she forgot about her migraine for a moment, at least.

Scanning the room first for any peeping toms, Akane lifted her shirt. Her abdomen was neatly wrapped in bandages. Around the center a red stain began to show itself. Akane softly touched her stomach.

In a rush memories flooded back to her. She remembered her adventure at the airport, then meeting Kaguya at the art museum and finding out about the Celestial Blade. The last memory made her blush slightly as she remembered her last position before she had blacked out.

"Speaking of which, where is everyone?" Something in the back of her mind warned her of something, something that was wrong with Hayate. Akane stood again, this time without wavering, and went outside into the familiar hallway of her home.

Looking both ways, she didn't exactly expect to see anyone walking down. And she didn't. But she was still anxious to meet anyone. Her stomach fluttered for some odd reason. She felt she was going to run into someone sooner or later.

Akane pushed forward, keeping a continuous eye on anyone who might come from behind. Because her head was turned the other way, she failed to notice the figure walking towards her. And as the figure was just as lost in thought, the both of them were about to have a fun run-in with each other.

Akane yelped in pain as her head collided with the other's skull. She muttered under her breath, rubbing the area of collision on her head. The throbbing pain from her migraine returned to her. What joy. Her vision began to spin because of it, so she remained on the floor, waiting until the spell of dizziness passed.

"Damn it, watch where you're going." The person she had bumped heads with scolded irritably. Akane's eyes shot open. She recognized that voice. Migraine forgotten once again, Akane gazed up at her companion.

"H-hayate?"

Said person's deep azure eyes gazed down at her with an expression of utter shock and amazement. His mouth open slightly, both were at a loss for words as they stared into each other's orbs, relishing in the moment.

Hayate blinked confusedly as he processed the current situation.

"Akane?" He muttered, his voice cracking. When had she woken up?

Akane regained her composure and put on an expression of playful annoyance.

"Are you just going to stand there like a total idiot or are you going to help me up?" She asked with a sly grin. "I would do it myself, but everything's spinning right now."

Hayate sighed, but held out his hand, which Akane gratefully took. On her feet her head felt three times heavier than normal, and she held Hayate's hand for a bit more until everything came back into focus for her. What powers a simple migraine had!

"Uh, are you all right?" Hayate asked. Akane nodded and smiled in reassurance. Even so, neither let go of the other's hand, whether by realization or not. It wasn't until Akane's stomach decided to give its own comments that the two parted.

Akane laughed sheepishly. "Well, I'm hungry, how about you?"

Hayate gazed at her with a look of amazement, which was soon replaced with a warm smile. The Wind Knight nodded and together the two made it downstairs.

"What do you want?" Hayate asked. Akane stared at him in confusion.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what do you want to eat," Hayate repeated.

"Who said you could make something for me?" Akane cocked a playful eyebrow at the impatient Leafe Knight. Said Knight growled in response.

"Fine, make something yourself," he said and walked away. Akane frowned. She hadn't expected for him to actually give in that easily. Saddened, Akane proceeded to fix her own breakfast, which was a simple cinnamon sugar Pop-Tart.

"What a healthy breakfast," Hayate commented from the doorway. He never left entirely, merely stood by the door, watching her.

"Well, you said I should make myself something, so I did. It just so happened to have been a pre-made, instant meal," Akane said as she took a bite of the pastry. The sweet flavor flooded her mouth and she sighed in pleasure.

"Where are Sakana and the others?"

"Sakana went to school; your parents, Goh, Kei, and Sasame went to work; Mannen and the others went back to our apartment," Hayate explained.

"What day is it?"

"Wednesday."

"So why are you here?" Akane asked innocently.

"I didn't have to work, so I got the job of watching over you in case you woke up."

Akane gazed down at her Pop-Tart. So that was why, huh?

She quickly finished her breakfast and threw the wrapper in the trash. She was about to go back upstairs to wash up and get dressed when Hayate called her.

"Do…do you remember?"

Akane turned to him. She cocked her head to the side in question. Remember what?

"Do you remember what happened a few days ago…before you blacked out?" He repeated.

Akane turned her gaze to the floor. Unexpected tears of fear and frustration welled up in her eyes. She tried to fight them back, but instead succeeded in emitting a low sob. She felt an arm encircle her shoulders and gazed up into Hayate's comforting eyes.

"Why did she attack my family?" Akane asked.

Hayate didn't know how to answer. Though he wasn't sure himself, he had a hunch as to why.

"She probably felt it was a good way to get to you and Sakana."

Akane remembered what had happened with the Celestial Blade and how it had entranced her.

"Why was she after the Celestial Blade? And why did it affect me like that? Who _is_ Kaguya?"

Hayate was once again at a loss for what to say. He looked away from Akane, memories of his past flooding back to him. Painful memories, which he had hoped he had laid to rest permanently. Of course, being a Leafe Knight, that just wouldn't happen.

Akane tugged on his sleeve. She looked up at him with pleading, tear-filled eyes.

"Please tell me, Hayate. What is going on here?"

A spell of déjà vu struck the Leafe Knight like a baseball. He remembered being a similar situation of conflicting beings from the past not to long ago, though in a different place and time, with a different Pretear.

Akane watched as pain filled the Knight's eyes. Sudden realization dawned on her.

"Was Kaguya…did it have to do with Himeno?" Akane asked.

Hayate removed his sleeve from Akane's grasp and turned away. She had hit the mark so easily. He felt a hand rub his back, but he did not glance back.

"Hayate…I'm sorry," Akane whispered. "Please tell me. What happened between Himeno and Kaguya?"

An awkward moment of uncomfortable silence filled the room. It seemed to stretch on for eternity, but Akane didn't dare budge, and neither did Hayate. She needed to know these answer, even though she knew these answer would reopen old wounds. Part of her seemed to know what was going through Hayate's mind, knew what had probably conspired between the legendary Pretear and the Princess of Disaster. Akane didn't know why, but she felt she knew the answers to her own questions, but she couldn't quite grasp them like a fleeting memory or dream.

"We should wait until Sakana and the others get back," Hayate suggested. "Sakana should know, too."

-----

It had certainly been a huge production when everyone returned home to find Akane awake and looking so much livelier. Akane felt she was going to pass out from suffocation, but was glad to see everyone's smiling faces. Well, almost everyone's. Sasame, though he was certainly glad to see she was doing well, bore an expression of sorrow when he saw Hayate and inquired of him on what had happened. Now both either avoided everyone's company or gazed on with a sad smile.

Sakana was simply ecstatic that her sister was finally awake. She bombarded her with questions, some of which were insignificant ("Did you eat some pie today?"), but they nevertheless let Akane forget her persistent migraine. Ugh. To hell with it. Why wouldn't it just leave her alone?

Then Sakana brought up the inevitable question: the very same question Akane had asked Hayate early that day. When she had, the entire room grew quiet. Her mother and father, seeing as this was a personal matter, gave their daughters a quick hug and kiss before exiting the room. The tension left behind was so thick, Akane felt suffocated by its sheer strength.

"Is anyone going to answer our question?" Sakana asked.

"I think it was time we told them what happened, Hayate," Sasame said.

Hayate, who before had had his arms folded over his chest, let his hands fall to his side in defeat as he turned around.

"Who is she? Who exactly is Kaguya?"

-----

Akane laid wide-awake in her bed that night, mulling over everything she had learned during the day. It all felt too overwhelming, but at least the Knights had been open with her and Sakana.

They had told them of the origins of Kaguya. She was once a legendary princess with a beauty and wit to support her. She was renowned as the jewel of the night, for she loved to dance in the radiant moonlight with her robe. She had many suitors, of course, that had wished for her hand in marriage, or just simply wished to gaze at her. Many had brought her gifts, but one such gift had been special to her.

A knock came at Akane's door and Sakana walked in and sat by her sister on the bed.

"Can't sleep?" Akane asked, though she knew the answer.

"Nope," Sakana answered. A small paused followed, then Sakana spoke again, "Do you remember the story the Knights told us about Kaguya?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Remember they said that Kaguya received gifts from a lot of the men who came to see her, and that one special present had been precious to her."

"Yeah, and?"

"Maybe that special gift was the Celestial Blade," Sakana suggested.

Akane sat up in her spot. "Sakana how can that be? She would have had to have a pure heart to even see the blade, and, if you remember what Kei told you about her at the museum, she couldn't see the sword."

"But maybe something changed her so she couldn't see it anymore," Sakana argued. "Maybe she had done something like Takako had done and became a Princess of Disaster, so she couldn't see it anymore. Then she thought someone had stolen it from her and that's why she's after the Pretears and Knights!"

Akane stared at her sister incredulously. She though she would never see the day that Sakana would actually make sense and solve a problem as big as this.

"What?"

"Nothing, it's just for the first time, you are making a lot of sense into this huge problem," Akane said. Sakana stared at her, obviously offended.

"Anyways, so what if you are right. Why would she go after the Pretear and the Leafe Knights?"

"Maybe because as the Princess of Disaster, Kaguya was against them, and so she blamed them, thinking they had stolen it from her," Sakana said. Akane still couldn't believe her sister was making this much sense.

"And after that they would have battled, which would have resulted in Kaguya's sealing!" Akane finished. Everything Sakana said had made sense and fit with the story the Knights had given them.

"But now we don't know how she woke up," Sakana pointed out.

"No, but we know now what happened to the last Pretear, Himeno."

Akane recalled the story that Hayate had volunteered to tell.

"_Himeno…even though she was certainly the most powerful Pretear, she was still affected by age, so her powers were diminishing. Kaguya saw this and attempted to take advantage of it. I had been prêt-ed with Himeno at the time, and just before Kaguya struck her with the Celestial Blade, she forced me out. She…died in my arms."_

* * *

A/N: I hope you all like this so far. I know I don't. I'm gonna go completely over this thing when I finish it and repost it.

…I would normally say "Please review!" but I don't feel I deserve them right now. I don't even deserve to live for making you all wait! I'm sooo sorry! Please forgive me! I'll try and catch up as much as I can over the summer!


	16. Back in School! No!

Hey guys! I'm sorry for not updating this. I just haven't had any inspiration to write anything at all for a while. But, guess what? TODAY'S MY ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY ON . And this is part of a big present to all my readers! I updated also _Titans in the Tournament!_ (Well, I'm going to, anyways…)

Thank you to everyone who reviewed last chapter! . I don't have any anon. reviews, so yeah!

_

* * *

Last time on The American Pretears: _

"_But now we don't know how she woke up," Sakana pointed out._

"_No, but we know now what happened to the last Pretear, Himeno."_

_Akane recalled the story that Hayate had volunteered to tell._

"Himeno…even though she was certainly the most powerful Pretear, she was still affected by age, so her powers were diminishing. Kaguya saw this and attempted to take advantage of it. I had been prêt-ed with Himeno at the time, and just before Kaguya struck her with the Celestial Blade, she forced me out. She…died in my arms."

* * *

Chapter 16

"Sakana! Where is my backpack?" Akane yelled downstairs. Of all the things to be missing on her first day back to school, she had to have lost her _backpack_. Sure, she could live with loosing a shoe or a shirt, but her backpack just had to be the one.

"I don't know! It's not here in my hand dangling on my pinky!" Sakana called back up to her. When she heard a resonating growl, Sakana smirked. But the smirk was soon replaced by a grimace of pain as said backpack fell onto her toe.

"Ow! Damnit, what's in there?" Sakana shouted.

"Folders, pencils, paper…" Akane trailed off. "Well, it serves you right for making me waste ten minutes trying to find it." Akane roughly picked up her bag and slung the strap over her shoulder.

"Oh, are you girls leaving already?" Mrs. Himura poked her head out of the kitchen. The sweet aroma of scrambled eggs wafted up their noses, making their mouths water even though they had just finished eating said meal fifteen minutes ago.

"Yep, see ya, Mom!" Sakana waved to her and attempted to leave the house.

"Oh, no you don't," Mrs. Himura pulled Sakana back by her forearm roughly and planted a kiss on her forehead. Content with herself, she smiled and said, "Now you can go."

As Sakana cringed and attempted to wipe off any motherly germs off her forehead, Akane laughed and kissed her mother good-bye.

"You girls have fun at school!"

"Oh, yeah, we'll have _loads_ of fun," Akane and Sakana called back, rolling their eyes.

"Hey, Akane! You're back! Feeling any better?" Were the first questions asked to her by the several children waiting at the bus stop. Akane back away slightly from the bombardment.

"Hey, coming through! Formerly sick girl coming through!" Sakana announced and she pushed her way through the crow of kids. They took their usual spots on the sidewalk, waiting for the bus to pick them up.

"You really didn't have to do it like _that _you know," Akane said.

"Well, would you rather have answered the same question over and over again and be washed over with the feeling of claustrophobia until you screamed in frustration and ran away until you finally threw up?"

Akane stared at her sister.

"What?" Sakana asked innocently.

"Nothing," Akane grinned. Sometimes Sakana had these spells of intelligence. They were so capricious; they never ceased to amaze Akane when they came.

"Akane!" A voice just as load as Sakana's cried and before she knew it, Akane was tackled by two arms. Here came the choke hold again.

"Hi…Miranda," Akane gagged. "Can't…breathe…."

Miranda kept hold for a few seconds longer before she finally let go. Akane rubbed her sore arms.

"I'm so glad you're okay!" Miranda smiled. "When you didn't come to school, we asked Sakana, but she didn't tell us a thing! What happened?"

"Um, well, I sorta fell down the stairs and got sick at the same time…just a cold, though!" Akane added hastily upon seeing the look on her friend's face. Sakana looked at her sister strangely, and Akane just gave her a silent gesture to play along.

"Oh, well, okay! Why didn't you say anything, Sakana?" Miranda asked. Then, a sudden thought must have occurred to her, as she immediately changed the subject to something more touchy. "Oh, I saw on the news! The airport was attacked and I saw your parents there! And I saw you guys and five other guys dressed in weird outfits."

Akane and Sakana chose to remain quiet, both in mutual agreement not to talk about what happened. The memories of that day still played clearly through both their minds, both still painfully realistic.

Miranda gazed at her friends, then immediately covered her mouth. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It's just," Sakana started.

"That day still…haunts us," Akane finished.

_More you than me, though,_ Sakana thought.

"Anyways, um," Miranda stuttered. "Oh, did you hear? I finally got a boyfriend!"

"Really? Who?" Sakana asked.

"This guy named Richard. He's in your band class, I think, Akane," Miranda said. "But he's in 7th grade like me."

"Man, next thing we know, first graders are going to have boyfriends and girlfriends," Akane rolled her eyes. Why was it that everyone else but her and her sister was able to get boyfriends, or at least someone that liked them?

"Nah, first graders are too naïve," Sakana said. "They lack the emotional stability for a steady relationship with anyone and have also not gone through puberty. Non-adolescent children do not understand their hearts as well as us older ones."

Akane and Miranda stared at her. That was _twice_ today that she had a sudden intellectual comment.

"Sakana, you wouldn't happen to be schizophrenic, would you?" Miranda asked.

"They say 5 out of 4 people are," Akane commented.

"What's schizophrenic? And 5 out of 4 isn't possible! That's more than 100 percent!" Sakana argued.

"If you understood what being schizophrenic was, then yes, it would make sense," Akane muttered. **(A/N: Being schizophrenic is very basically meaning having double personalities. Like Haru from Fruits Basket. That isn't the only symptom, though)**

"Hey, there's the bus!" Miranda pointed to a big, yellow bus creeping along the road. Finally it screeched to a stop in front of the sidewalk they were all congregated on and its doors opened.

"Sure, just take your time…" Akane muttered darkly as everyone boarded the bus. They pretty much filled the whole bus with some even sitting three to a seat.

The bus almost literally crept along the road at a sluggish 20 miles per hour. Cars from all over honked at the driver, some even giving rude gestures.

"And just who or what is driving this bus? A slug? 'Cause it certainly isn't Goh," Sakana commented, making Akane laugh.

"We would have been there already if it was Goh. Actually, we would be dead if it was him…" Akane shivered at the thought of her experience with Goh's driving. Never let Goh drive _anywhere_.

"Who's Goh?" Miranda peeked around their seat from behind.

"A crazy friend of ours."

"Yeah, and he gives me piggy back rides!" Sakana squealed.

"But you almost break his back in the process when you jump in him like you do," Akane pointed out.

"Yeah, and? He should have learned by now of my unpredictable nature," Sakana crossed her arms over her chest.

"Sakana…if you're unpredictable, then he can't have learned to predict when you jump on his back," Miranda corrected.

Sakana's mouth opened and closed, searching for a retort. Finding none, she literally went balling. She jumped from her seat "crying" and went to go bother a little sixth grader in the back.

"Sakana! Why are you leaving us?" Miranda shouted.

Sakana ignored her, pretending to sob even louder.

"You know she's faking it, right?" Akane said.

"How do you know? I didn't even give her a hug this morning!" With that, Miranda went to join Sakana and the frightened little sixth grader.

"No wonder they are getting shorter every year. It's people like Sakana and Miranda that scare them half to death," Akane muttered with a smile. She was also at fault…just not as much.

Finally, they arrived at school. Unlike the last time they had been there, the sun and heat weren't so unbearable. In fact, Akane almost needed a light jacket. Almost. Some people were buried under layers of clothes, complete with gloves and a sweatshirt.

"Wusses," Sakana muttered. "It's not that cold."

"At least not today, anyways," Akane added.

"Well, shall we go to The Wall, then?" Miranda asked.

"I thought The Wall was overrun with a bunch of people we don't know and now we have been forced to go to The Bench now?" Sakana asked.

"Sakana…what have you been eating that's making you all smart now?" Akane cocked a suggestive eyebrow at her sister.

"Um…ramen?" Sakana laughed sheepishly. Akane merely shook her head.

"Long way or short way?" Akane pointed left and right to two pathways. The short way to the right led directly to The Bench and was a mere one minute walk from where they were. Taking the long way to the left had them go around the whole school and through the crowd of kids and carpool until they reached The Bench.

"Long way so we can go by the band room. I want you guys to meet Richard!" Miranda then dragged them through the small crowd of students and to the band room.

Several kids were crowded around benches, instruments out, practicing scales and concert music. Akane cringed as she heard a beginning clarinet player squeak loudly as they attempted to play a middle C.

"So, where is he?" Sakana asked.

"He's probably inside." Miranda stared at the doors in disbelief. "Akane, could you go in and tell him to come out?"

"Sure," she sighed. There weren't many rules for band. Just remember your instrument everyday, do the best you can at everything, and show up for rehearsals. But there was one major rule for anyone that seemed the most enforced. No one outside of band was allowed inside the band room. So, that left only Akane who was allowed inside of the group. But now, they had Richard.

Akane searched the crowd of students who were practicing, tutoring, or just goofing around for a mop of black hair. She knew that there was a Richard in her class that played French horn. She had never really talked to him, but she pretty much knew everyone in her class of sixty or so kids.

"Hey, you're Richard, right?" Akane inquired.

"Um, yeah," the boy looked at her strangely.

"Well, Miranda's waiting for you outside."

"You know Miranda?" He asked.

"Yeah, come on." Akane was leading him out the door when she heard her name called by several different people. One girl with black hair tied in back rushed up to her.

"Hey, Akane! We finally picked a song for the concert!" She exclaimed.

"Oh!" Akane beamed. "Hey Richard, could you tell Miranda and the others that I won't be coming out?"

"Sure," he said and walked out.

"So, what song did you guys pick, Sakimi?"

"Well, Mark, Ryan, Lindsay, Hana, and I picked this song that's kinda strange but really cool…"

-----

"Hey, where's Akane?" Miranda asked her boyfriend when he came out alone.

"She said she was going to stay inside and practice with some other people," he answered.

"She's leaving us! And she didn't even say good-bye!" Sakana wailed, crying in Miranda's shoulder.

"I know!" Miranda joined in on the act as well, leaving Richard feeling very confused at scared for them at the same time.

"Oh!" Sakana suddenly perked up and extended her hand. "My name's Sakana! What's your name?"

"Um, my name's Richard," he answered uncertainly. This girl certainly was strange. Nonetheless, he took her hand and she shook it rather forcefully. Sakana finally got a good look at him and gasped.

"Oh my god! You look just like Thomas! A short little mini chibi version of him!"

"Thomas?" Both he and Miranda chided.

"I know! Your new name is Short Little Mini Chibi Thomas!" Sakana grinned at her own intelligent thought.

Miranda laughed, even though she had no idea where her outburst came from. "Well, come on! Sam and Lauren are probably already at The Bench!"

-----

The bell rang for first period and everyone in the band proceeded the daily routine of arranging the chairs and stands in a semi-circle. Once that task was done, everyone took their instruments from their lockers and started to put them together. Meanwhile, a flute player began to take role.

"Clarinets?" She asked.

"Is everyone here?" Akane asked down the row.

"Akane! You're back!" One seventh grader, Brittany, who Akane had become good friends with, grinned in surprise.

"Yep." Akane smiled back. She counted heads and got thirteen in total. "Everyone's here, Andrea!"

"Ok," Andrea marked it on a clipboard and proceeded to the next sections.

"Where were you?" Mark, the first chair clarinet, asked her. Akane spun around to face him, startled.

"Oh, um, I fell down the stairs at my house and got sick with a cold," Akane lied.

"Ow," Mark shivered as he imagined the situation.

"Akane, where have you been?" Mr. Williams, the band director, asked her.

"She fell down the stairs and got sick," Mark answered for her.

"At the same time?" Mr. Williams cocked an eyebrow.

"Yeah…I had such a great winter vacation," Akane groaned. Well, that part wasn't a lie, anyways. Mr. Williams laughed.

"Well, we are going to be sight-reading some new pieces today, one grade four and a grade five," he announced to the entire class. Kim, who sat next to Akane, got up and began passing out two pieces of sheet music to everyone. One piece was titled "An American Elegy." The other was called "O Magnum Mysterium." **(A/N: Look them up in the iTunes Music Store! Or on the net or something!)** The former was three pages long. The rhythms appeared relatively easy. What was strange about it, though, was that it dipped down into the lower registers of the clarinet. And on the 1st Clarinet part! You would see that once in a blue moon, if ever. The second piece was a page and a half long. The rhythms were ridiculously easy; Akane almost thought that Mr. Williams had given them the wrong song. Mostly quarter, half, or whole notes, with a few eighth notes here and there.

"Mr. Williams, this one looks way too easy," One tube player complained. "Can't we get something a bit harder?"

"The rhythms are easy, but what have I always said? The hardest music to play as a band—"

"Is slow music," the band finished for him.

"Well, look at the tempos. Also look at the time signatures as they change."

You could hear reverberating "oh's" as everyone glanced at their music.

"You shouldn't have even looked at your music yet!" Mr. Williams scolded, though not at all raising his voice. "What's the point of sight-reading if you look at it beforehand?"

Everyone immediately turned their sheets over on the stands and sat, waiting for the command to flip them back over.

"Okay, _now_ you can turn over your music."

Everyone laughed and turned the music back over, and thus the day began…

-----

By fourth period, Akane was wiped out. She didn't know why, either. Her stomach grumbled. She felt as if she hadn't eaten at all in days. But she couldn't worry about her stomach at the moment. She needed to focus on the practice essay she was writing for the FCAT.

…what was the topic again?

Akane screamed inwardly at herself. She couldn't concentrate. She needed to get something in her stomach. Or better yet, just take a nice, long nap. Yes, the latter seemed very much inviting. Her lips could use a break as well. They were still throbbing from playing her clarinet. She hadn't realized that they had gotten so out of shape over the course of three weeks.

_No, concentrate already!_ Akane smacked herself. She shook her head in hope that she could force her brain to concentrate. For what seemed like the hundredth time that hour, she glanced at her paper. All she had written was the introductory paragraph, and it was barely six lines long.

"Ok, guys. Stop writing for now and go to lunch," Mrs. Edwards announced. Everyone gratefully put their pencils or pens down and quickly rushed out the door for lunch.

Akane cried in frustration and slowly made her way out the door to the cafeteria.

"Hey, Akane!"

She glanced behind her. Sam was racing towards her.

"Hey, Sam," Akane said solemnly.

"What's wrong?" Sam now kept in step with her, though being a few inches shorter than Akane.

"Bad day."

"Oh," Sam said.

"I'm still on the first paragraph of that essay," Akane added, figuring that was what her friend was waiting for. "I so badly wanted to just take a nap."

"Well, I'm actually doing pretty good with this essay; I'm on the third paragraph." Sam glanced up at her friend. "If you want, you can use my idea and stuff."

Akane shook her head. "No, thanks anyway. I'm just really hungry right now."

"AKANE! MY SISTER!" The familiar voice of Sakana startled the girls, and before she knew it, Akane was tackled by said girl. "How are you, my sister? Are you having a nice time writing?"

Akane merely stared down at the hyperactive girl. She wore a silly grin on her face, and Akane couldn't help but smile back.

"Oh yes, I'm having a wonderful time writing! In fact, I'm so into it that I'm still on the first paragraph after half an hour!" Akane joked.

"Well, I'm glad you're having fun!" Sakana released her hold on her sister and turned to Sam. "Sam! It's been so long!"

"Sakana! I know! It's been the longest three hours of my life!" The two girls hugged each other tightly, laughing.

"Hey, what about me?" Another girl with black hair tied back tightly walked up.

"JB! I'VE MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" Sakana and Sam both proceeded to squeeze their friend to death. As they did so, JB began to turn a pretty shade of blue.

"Um, guys…she's starting to turn purple," Akane warned.

Sakana and Sam both looked up, confused.

"Can't…breathe…,"

_Gee, I wonder when this happened before,_ Akane thought jokingly to herself.

"Oh no! JB! Don't choke on us and die a horrible death!" Sakana cried. She shook her friend's body violently.

Akane sighed disapprovingly. Sam blinked, then laughed.

"Sakana…ok…I'm not dead," JB said, her voice bouncy from being shaken.

Sakana stopped rocking her friend and looked at her. A wide grin appeared on her face. "THANK GOD YOU'RE ALIVE!" She once again put JB in a death-tight hug.

"Back to square one," Sam said.

"Ugh, where's Goh when you need him?" Akane said.

"Who Goh?"

"Oh, no one in particular. Just a friend of ours." Then Akane jumped suddenly. Why hadn't she thought of that before?

----

The foursome of girls was eating in a comfortable silence at a table in the cafeteria. Well, if comfortable meant that Sam once again forgot her lunch and was sharing with JB and Akane, JB was still slightly blue, and Sakana was sulking to herself, then they were one big happy family.

"Sakana, want a cookie?" Akane offered.

"No thanks," she said after a slightly pause in consideration.

The other three girls exchanged worried glances.

"Oh, come on, Sakana. It was funny!" Sam laughed.

Sakana grunted and turned away.

"Oh, geez, Sakana, come on. It's not as though you haven't tricked me before," Akane said.

Sakana turned a narrow gaze on her sister. "Yeah, but that was just _low_. To trick me with Goh."

"It's not as though he vanished into thin air. We can always go see him after school, you know," Akane pointed out.

"Yeah, and you have a whole 4-day weekend to get back at her," JB whispered to Sakana.

"Hey, what'd you—wait, we have a four-day weekend?" Akane asked.

"Yeah, you didn't know?" JB said matter-of-factly.

"But we just got back from break." Akane was just totally confused.

"Yeah, and who's complaining? I hate school, anyways," JB said.

"Four-day weekend, huh?" Akane muttered to herself. She felt a pair of eyes staring at her and looked around. Sakana was glaring at her with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Akane gulped. She hoped she would survive the weekend.

* * *

A/N: About what I said about 6th graders getting shorter every year…anyone else notice that? At least at my school, they are getting shorter. I'm sure I wasn't _that_ short when I was in 6th grade… And about the Short Little Mini Chibi Thomas thing…hehehe, that's a name we gave to my friend's boyfriend and the reason is the same. E saw him and thought of this guy we knew and got that. Strange, really. We say it really fast so it sounds like one long name. 

The two songs I chose for band, I played last year in 8th grade. "O Magnum Mysterium" looks really easy, but it's the expression that's a bit difficult. It has a choral and a band version. I personally like the choral version much better. Though, at the district festival, we totally butchered the song, but we still got straight Superiors…strange.

Anyways, I hope you guys liked this. Even though there seemed to be no point to this chapter, there was one! There was some foreshadowing for the epilogue (already written…-.- But the rest of the story isn't…). But other than that, yeah it was pointless!

* * *

Next time in _The American Pretears:_

Chapter 17: "A Fishing Trip"  
Summary: The Himuras take a fishing trip and invite the Leafe Knights/GASP/ Danger will insue as everyone tries to to stay on board and keep the contents of their stomachs exactly where they belong: in their stomachs.

**_OR_**

Chapter 17: "A Disney Trip" (either way, it's a trip somewhere)  
Summary: The Himuras going on a trip to Disney World and invite the Leafe Knights/GASP/ Danger will insue as people are lost in the crowds and bets are made.

You guys choose which one you want! Until I get some votes, I won't be able to write the next chapter! I really don't care which one.


	17. On the Road Again! A Disney Trip Part 1

Ok, well, as you can see, most people voted for the Disney trip (probably cuz what everyone had in mind for a fishing trip was different from mine...We would fish in the _ocean,_ not some small little lake where no one can move anywhere, and on a big boat with _motors!_...lol. And going _really_ fast!)

I had this up really late. But almost literally, my inspiration bubble just…popped. But then it reformed! I waited to put this up until after I went to Disney again (and to all the parks!!) on my band trip to Orlando so I could add things, edit things, subtract things…

Well, this chapter is gonna be split into two parts because I said so. And the Disney they are going to is the one in Orlando. They are NOT going to Disneyland. And for those of you who don't know the difference, Disneyland is in California; Disney World is in Orlando. The better rides are in Orlando. .

* * *

Chapter 17: A Disney Trip Pt.1: On the Road Again...

Akane, for one, was tired of school. True, she had only been back for...three days? But she was sick and tired of all the questions, whether they had to do with her absence or school related things, such as "Write the biconditional of these two statements" in geometry class. Who _cares_ about the stupid biconditional! Let it create itself! It didn't need a babysitter or someone to hold its hand!

By Friday, Akane was gonna blow. She wanted to have just a nice, relaxing weekend all to herself...though some part of her felt she was going to regret it later when the Leafe Knights would come barging in. Oh well. By the time they did come, she would probably change her mind about peace and quiet, anyways.

"Alright, everyone take out a sheet of paper," Mr. Black ordered. The class grumbled and groaned. No one knew what was coming, though. Most predicted a quiz. Some thought of more notes. Everyone else was just watching the clock tick by, many cursing at it under their breath. Either way, they thought, he was too unpredictable to know exactly what was coming, so they didn't try to guess anymore.

"What do we title it?" One girl dared to ask. That was one way to figure things out.

Mr. Black thought for a moment, then said, "Title it 'Presidents Quiz'."

Everyone groaned. Those who guess correctly sighed and rolled their eyes.

"Is this one going to count?" Another boy asked.

Mr. Black shrugged. "I don't know, haven't decided yet. Depends on how you guys are."

Not bothering to wait, one boy cut in, "Aw, come on, Mr. B! It's Friday _and_ it's last period! Can we just listen to music for the rest of class?"

Mr. Black didn't bother to respond. "Ok, number one..."

_Great, an oral quiz,_ Akane groaned. She really didn't fret too much about pop quizzes, as she almost always got A's, but she hated them just as much as the next person. Time for more torture for the next–

"Half an hour," Akane mumbled under her breath.

-----

"Akane!"

Akane looked up to find Sakana waving at her perfectly dry from under an umbrella. So that's where her umbrella had been.

"Thief," Akane growled as she joined her sister underneath the dryness, though even if she had stayed out there was no possible way she could have gotten any wetter.

Sakana grinned innocently at her sister as they walked towards their bus home. She would have whistled, had she been blessed with the ability to perform the task. But alas, all she could do was create more carbon dioxide. So instead, she gave it verbal sound. "Whistle, whistle, whistle."

Like a shaggy dog, Akane shook her body when she stepped onto the bus, spraying everyone who was within a three foot radius with water. Sakana shrieked and laughed. Akane gave her a look, a silent accusation. With that, the younger sister raced over to their usual seat in the middle of the bus.

"So, did you have fun today?" Sakana asked. Akane glared at her from underneath the wetness of her blonde bangs. Sakana grinned.

"You look like a wet poodle, or like Goh when he comes out of the shower after he washes his hair."

Akane didn't dare ask how she knew that information or why, so she kept her mouth shut.

Sakana frowned. Akane was awfully quiet. And she never answered her question.

"You know, you never answered my question."

"Does it look like I had fun today?" Akane asked.

"Uh...yes?" Akane slapped her head and Sakana laughed. "So, what are we gonna do this weekend?"

"I don't know. We'll probably end up going to see the Knights. God forbid they haven't gotten enough of us during break," Akane snorted and rolled her eyes.

"Really? I hope so," Sakana gazed out the window with a content smile on her face. She actually took what she said seriously. Akane groaned and turned in her seat. She closed her eyes, but she knew that the ride home would be a short five minutes, so there was no point in trying to sleep. It never hurt to try, though.

Five minutes later the bus pulled up to their community, halting traffic all around them. The doors opened, and kids forced their way off the bus, determined to get home for their weekend. Akane was one of the last ones off, Sakana one of the first. Therefore, by the time Akane walked through the door of her house, Sakana was waiting impatiently for her, changed and ready to go back out.

"Finally! You walk like a turtle, you know...or a really slow snail," Sakana said.

"Well, I'm sorry, Your Highness," Akane retorted. She was in no mood to play. All she wanted was a nice, long nap. Yes, that was music to her ears at the moment.

"Hurry up and change so we can go see Goh!" Sakana urged. When Akane didn't answer and kept walking away, Sakana added, "Well, I'll just tell Hayate you didn't want to see him. And maybe I'll even send the Mabudachi Trio over here Akane stopped dead and slowly turned to glare at her sister. How _dare_ she use Hayate as a bribe. And Mannen, Hajime, and Shin. Oh, she was gonna pay for this.

"Fine," Akane sighed. She couldn't believe how easily she gave in. Sakana did, apparently, as she was grinning from ear to ear almost literally. "But he'll be the fifth one we see." (2)

"What?! Why? Why can't we see him first?"

"Because it's in his name," Akane put simply, a wicked smirk playing on her face. Sometimes she was surprised at her own wit.

"No, that isn't fair!!"

"Fine, then I'll just go and take my nap…"Akane turned around and started upstairs.

A heavy weight latched itself onto Akane's left leg. She stopped to look down. It took all her self control to keep from laughing and maintain a straight face.

Sakana stared up at her, lip quivering. Her eyes began to glaze over, but it wasn't with tears. It was Akane's own wetness of joy that clouded her vision. The two combined gave the illusion of an anime-style Sakana crying. Akane had to bite her lip to keep from laughing, which caused the wetness in her eyes in the first place.

"Then we agree?" Akane choked out. Despite her being on the brink of laughter, Sakana nodded hastily. "Then get off my leg, already. You're cutting off the circulation."

The young girl immediately obeyed without objection. She looked towards her older sibling as if expecting more orders.

"Alright, let's go…"

"YAY!!" Sakana's demeanor immediately changed and she zoomed out the door faster than Akane could blink.

"…you could have at least let me change, Sakana…"

"Oh, Akane, you're home," her mother appeared at the kitchen door. "Where's your sister?"

"She went to go see Goh and the others…and she didn't even wait for me to change. And it's her fault in the first place that I'm sopping wet…evil umbrella thief…" Akane mumbled under her breath.

"Well, could you go get her? We have something very important to discuss with the both of you. And tell her to bring her friends along as well."

Akane stared up at her mother. She seemed so serious all of a sudden. What could she possibly want? And with the Leafe Knights, no less? Akane shrugged and dug out her cell phone from her pocket. She started to dial Hayate's apartment number, but then thought better of it. Instead…

-----

"Sakana the ninja sneaks around, stealthily looking for her prey: a certain red-and-brown haired knight…" Sakana muttered to herself and she stalked the familiar apartment for said Knight. "So far, he has evaded her clutches but—Oh! What's this?"

Sakana sidled against the wall next to an open bedroom door. She heard humming. It sounded like "Singing in the Rain" to her. She needed all her self-control to control the giggle building up in her throat. Even with that, a snort escaped her mouth.

"Huh? Who's there?" Goh asked. "Mannen, if that's you, get away already. I'm busy."

Sakana kept quiet. She contemplated pretending to be Mannen or the others, but thought better of it. What she had in mind was much more pleasing to her.

With small taps, Sakana patted out a rhythm with her hands on the floor. Slowly at first, she increased her speed, imitating the movie she had seen not to long ago about sharks.

"Rawr!"

"GAH!!!" Sakana screeched and fell back on her butt. Her heart pounded a million miles a minute in her chest so forcefully she thought her head might explode.

Goh laughed hysterically, gripping his sides. He half-expected it to be Mannen teasing him. But when he spotted Sakana, he couldn't resist. She had been concentrating so hard on her hands that she hadn't noticed him come out of the room.

"Wh-what was that for?!"

Goh took a few deep breaths in an effort to calm himself before he answered, "I just couldn't resist. You were concentrating so hard…it was hysterical!"

"That's so mean!" Sakana pouted.

"Aw, come on, don't be like that." Goh extended a hand to help her up, but she scoffed and looked away. "Fine, get up on your own."

"Wait! Don't leave me here…!" Sakana pleaded as Goh walked away. When he didn't turn around, Sakana balled. "Why? You mean person! Fine, be mean, and rude, and ungrateful, and _ugly_!"

Goh stopped and turned around. "What did you say?"

Sakana stopped. She didn't think that would actually work. "Um…I have cookies?"

Goh cocked a suggestive eyebrow at her, shrugged, and went over to her. Grinning, Sakana gladly took his hand and sprang to her feet.

"Oh! I came over to say hi to you guys today! And I brought Akane with me! Well, actually," Sakana smirked triumphantly, "I bribed her into coming."

"You bribed her? Where is she?"

"She's right behind," Sakana pointed to the air behind her, "…me. AKANE, MY SISTER! WHERE ARE YOU?"

"What the hell is going on? Can't you keep it down?" Kei grumbled as he entered from the small living room. "Oh, hi, Sakana."

"My sister abandoned me!!" Sakana cried. "She couldn't bare to face Haya—AH!!" Sakana was suddenly tackled from behind and fell flat on her face.

"I couldn't face who?" Akane threatened softly. She pinned Sakana's arms down while straddling her, successfully disabling any defenses she might have.

"Um...no one! No one at all…" Sakana laughed sheepishly.

With one last considering glance, Akane got off her sister's back. Sakana looked up at her with a sorrowful look, but Akane merely shrugged it off. She was in a bad mood as it was.

"I actually came here to get all of you. Mom wants all of us to meet her for some reason."

"Why?" Sakana asked.

"I just said I didn't know why." Akane was close to losing her temper.

"Did anything happen?" Kei asked.

"Not that I know of. But she seemed to be in a good mood," Akane said.

"Well, I'll get everyone together. We'll meet you guys at your house," Kei volunteered.

-----

What do I do, what do I do, what do I do?? Akane kept asking herself. She hadn't wanted to face Hayate after the story he had related to them about Himeno and Kaguya. She hadn't known what to say then, and still didn't have a clue now. She wanted to comfort him, but figured that he wouldn't want sympathy. He was staring at his feet, sitting unusually still and rigid.

"Well, I'm glad you all came," Mr. Himura said.

"Why are we all here, anyway?" Sakana asked.

"Well, since you asked, let's get right down to business. I was wondering if you all would like to take a small vacation this weekend to Disney World?"

"Disney World?" Everyone chorused.

"Yes," Mrs. Himura smiled. "You all have been working hard, and it's time you took a break. We'd travel in two separate cars, since there would be so many of us."

"Wait, so we would all be going? Including Goh and the others?" Sakana repeated.

"No, Sakana, we wanted to make your friends jealous by calling them here." Mr. Himura rolled his eyes.

"What?! That's so mean!!"

"Sakana, he was being sarcastic," Yumi said as she entered the room.

"Yumi?! My sister! What are you doing here?" Sakana raced over to Yumi and gave her a hug like she hadn't seen her for years.

"I'm part of this family, too, remember? Even if I'm not always living here," Yumi grinned and patted Sakana on the head.

"What's Disney World?" Hajime asked innocently.

Sakana's eyes widened in shock. "What's Disney World? What's _Disney World_?! Boy, have you been living under a rock? Disney World is the most awesome amusement park, with lots of roller coasters and lots of mini parks, like Epcot, MGM, Universal Studios, Islands of Adventure, Magic Kingdom, Sea World, Animal Kingdom."

"Sakana, I think they get the point," Akane interrupted.

"We're thankful for the offer, but we really shouldn't," Hayate said, speaking for the first time since he had arrived. Everyone turned to stare at him.

"Why not, Hayate?" Hajime asked.

"Yeah, we've never been to Disney World!" Mannen protested.

Hayate calmly ignored them. "We don't want to be a bother. And the expenses, especially with _these two_," Hayate emphasized, glaring at Mannen and Hajime, "would be too much for us to handle."

"Oh, don't worry about money. This is our treat," Mrs. Himura reassured them. "We've booked rooms at the Disney All-Star Resort. We've already bought 3-day park hopper passes for all of us, and purchased meal tickets for the hotel."

"My, that sure is a lot, especially for 12 people," Kei commented.

"Yes, but we can handle this," Mr. Himura smiled. Kei blushed slightly in modesty. He had forgotten just how big the Himura's fortune was.

"So, will you join us?"

Hayate thought for a moment. He didn't quite understand why the Himuras would invite _all_ of them. Then it hit him. He smiled.

"All, right."

"YAY!" Mannen, Hajime, Shin, and the three sisters chorused.

"When do we leave?" Sasame asked.

"If it's not too much trouble, we'd like to leave tonight," answered. Mrs. Himura.

"Tonight?!" Goh repeated, astonished.

"Yes, to make the most of the 4-day weekend. You are all welcome to spend the night here so you won't have to drive over here with your stuff," Mrs. Himura offered.

"All right, then. Thank you very much for your offer, Mrs. Himura. Come on, guys; let's go back and pack," Hayate said.

-----

Akane couldn't relax. She was just too excited about their trip to Disney. She had already packed her bag. She had triple-checked to make sure she had everything she needed. In between checks, she paced around the house, thinking of all the rides she was going to go on. She would finally be able to go to Epcot and MGM for the first time in her life. From what her friends had told her about them, the first place she was going to stop at in Epcot was Japan.

Akane now sat on her bed, pondering about things in general. She was so lost in thought, she didn't noticed a certain girl waltz into her room and stand behind her.

Sakana took a deep breath, then bellowed, "AKANE!!"

Akane, startled by the sudden loud noise, fell off her bed and landed ungracefully on the floor.

Sakana grinned evilly when she saw her sister's death glare. "Sorry, I couldn't help it. It was perfect! You didn't even notice me."

Akane growled.

"So, are you excited for the trip?"

"Well, seeing as I can't sleep, and it's already, "Akane looked at her clock, "one in the morning, I'd say yeah."

"Mom and Dad said they'd let us explore the parks on our own, as long as we, and I quote, "adhere to the buddy system"." Sakana laughed. "Isn't that awesome?"

"Yeah. So we can park hop to any park we want without Mom and Dad stopping us!"

"So, who're you gonna buddy with?"

Akane froze. Just what did she mean by that?

"What do you mean by that? It's you, me, and Yumi."

"What about Hayate?" Sakana teased.

Akane glared. "He's perfectly capable of walking through Disney on his own. And _you_, what about Goh?"

"Oh, I was already planning on making him my noble steed who would guide me through the parks on his back."

Sakana had said that so seriously (and with a straight face), Akane was struck dumb.

"Then I'll go with Yumi."

"Yumi's going with Sasame."

Shot down again, Akane thought. "Sasame? Has she got a thing for Sasame?"

"Yep!" Sakana grinned.

"And how do you know this?" Akane questioned skeptically.

"You need to keep your eyes peeled and your ears open, or else you'll miss out on a bunch of stuff," Sakana explained knowingly. Akane had a feeling she probably forced the truth out of their older sister, which is would explain the shouting a few hours earlier.

"What about Mannen, Hajime, and Shin? They aren't going to be alone in the park, are they?"

"No. Kei's going with them."

_I guess that leaves me with Hayate, then,_ Akane resigned to herself. This would be the second time she would be alone with him.

-----

Sasame watched in amusement as the young knights scurried around the room, too excited to go to bed. He, too, was excited for the trip. This would be his first trip in the United States to a major theme park.

Yumi had opted to pair with Sasame after she had heard of the mandatory "buddy system" arrangement. Sasame hadn't refused, and was actually looking forward to spending time with her. She was certainly an interesting girl. She was hyperactive like her sisters, but at the same time, she was much calmer. In fact, much of her personality mirrored her sisters'. However, Sasame noticed the subtle contradictions in her.

Hayate stood at the doorway to the room and called, "Mannen, Hajime, Shin! Go to bed, already!"

"Aw, but Hayate," Mannen began to protest.

"No buts! You either go to bed or you won't be able to go to Disney!"

With the threat of not being allowed to explore Disney World (even if it was with Kei), Mannen and the others relented and went to bed. Sasame bid them all good night as they passed. Before Hayate left, Sasame called him in.

"I see you are just as excited as the rest of us."

Hayate scoffed. "The only reason I told them to go to bed was to get them to shut up."

"Really?" Sasame asked skeptically and smiled.

"You must be, also. Yumi is going to be with you," Hayate teased right back.

"I'm actually looking forward to it. Though, I hear that Akane doesn't have someone to go with."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well," Sasame began, "Goh is accompanying Sakana; I am going with Yumi; Kei volunteered to watch over Mannen and the others; that only leaves you and Akane."

Hayate glared at the Knight of Sound. "You planned this all out, didn't you?"

"I didn't have to. It was all set up from the beginning." Sasame smiled. He really didn't have to do anything to make sure Hayate would accompany Akane and Goh with Sakana.

One thing was for sure, though: This weekend would be one hell of a weekend.

talking trashcan, Soarin', MGM, Epcot, test track, Mountains, fireworks shows

* * *

(1): In the manga _Fruits Basket,_ "Mabudachi Trio" is the name given to Hatori Sohma the Dragon, Ayame Sohma the Snake, and Shigure Sohma the Dog. Mabudachi means best friends, or something along that line.

(2) I'm 99.9 sure that "go" means five in Japanese.

A/N: Again, I'm really sorry I haven't even touched this story in ages. But this chapter is really long! 11 pages!1 Woot!

Review response:

Darksxxwiifeyyx3: I know!! I know 6th graders who are taller than me! And I'm three years older than them!!

Oh, before I forget, I made a Pretear and Fushigi Yugi video a long time ago. If you wanna see them (they are just slideshow videos with music) go to YouTube and search AkaneKonae. That's my username. I'm currently in the process of making a Fruits Basket video.


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